#the jimin effect at its finest

[bonsai-maze]

watching straight masc cis men freak the fuck out over seeing Jimin for the first time is such gold

like damn right y'all ain't straight

[mintchocohip]

sub!bts ﹢ the reason for chastity 🔐

❝ Chastity is best approached with a sense of purpose. Although the OT7 have their individual reasons for wanting the cage, they all do so with a deepening desire for your control.   

a/n ─ a little something i worked on to break writer’s block. with locktober as inspiration, i set out to write a few sentences about how the members would approach keyholder relationships. 1.5k words later, turns out thinking about the members in chastity is, indeed, very inspiring... 

note ─ sub!bts x domme!reader. see each member for any other kinks or notes!

 🔑 TAEHYUNG ﹢ adoration 

 other kinks - possessive behavior | note - poly mentioned

Without your constant gropes and nuzzles Taehyung is in danger of forgetting you’re obsessed with him. Although he understands you’ll stop if maintaining his interest in this play becomes boring for you, Taehyung also very sincerely hopes you view jealously withholding his body from a world that wants him as your job. When life pulls you in separate directions Taehyung feels connected to you through this private, secure symbol of ownership. You call constantly to hear that he’s being a good boy and ensure he’s comfortable in equal measure. Resting on your bed surrounded by cozy blankets looking vaguely shy to be captured from his thick collar down to his glittering cage and thigh harnesses while you photograph the artwork calms Taehyung with safe knowing. You’re proud this boy is yours. Every time he’s frustrated you won’t let him out of the cage so he can play with his friends Taehyung rereads the notes you scrawled on the backs of those polaroids, stashed inside an envelope in his sub journal—notes about how precious he is to you, how breathtaking his cock is, and how the world's finest treasures are always kept under lock and key.

 🔑 YOONGI ﹢ masochism

Yoongi’s tastes hide in plain sight. He finds satisfaction in intentional, controlled discomfort. Doing it to himself is easy. When he discovers you have the same interests he tries to cut his giddiness at finding a keyholder with a little diffidence. It’s similar to your elegant silk shibari knots under his work clothes, or simple pressure on the bruises you left along the insides of his thighs when he crosses his legs to sit and check his notifications while waiting for the butcher to call his number. Reminders of a body possessed willingly keep him grounded. Yoongi has caged himself in the past out of curiosity. He enjoyed forming new routines around the cage, remembering it slowly when he awoke at night confused by a strange heaviness, observing its effects on his libido, and generally experimenting with a transformative yet tame form of self-discovery. Your hand holding the key will change the experience completely. Before he can do this with you, Yoongi needs to hear you explain why you’re interested. The tension of physical strain and emotional warmth is what makes him itch for it. Beyond that, whatever rules you want to set, or games you want to play—Yoongi is here to follow your heed.

 🔑 JUNGKOOK ﹢ initiative

The moment the uncomfortable cage touches his sensitive skin Jungkook’s affectionate mannerisms shut down. Showering together finds Jungkook maneuvering around you awkwardly. Part of him is confused. His body serves you well. He’s internalized this confidence so deeply that even when you explain your intentions he secretly wonders if wearing the cage is a punishment. You always tell him he’s too tempting. Most days he can’t hug you without risking a hand on his cock two seconds later. The removal of his ability to provide all of himself to you feels like a subtle hint that he should give you some distance. Or, at the very least, he should cool down on the teasing touches and deep kisses until you want to fuck him again. “It isn’t about your body, baby,” you remind him patiently, “it’s about your loyalty. There’s no reason to stop showing me affection. Just because you won’t be getting off doesn’t mean I can’t.” The learning curve is a surprisingly steep slope. Satisfying you with his touch without worrying about getting hard as fast as you’d like and coming before you get bored is almost a relief. Jungkook begins to understand. By focusing on your body alone this dynamic is reinforced in a way he could never truly understand when he had his freedom.

 🔑 HOSEOK ﹢ humility

  other kinks - pegging, degradation 

Firm control corrects Hoseok’s scattered priorities when he forgets his true nature. Although you reassure him again and again he can slide it off comfortably with lotion and patience, Hoseok never tries. Not because he enjoys wearing the cage—but because he respects you, he’s a little bit scared of you, and honoring you is worth losing his autonomy. Initially, there’s no real purpose to the cage besides dominating Hoseok psychologically. You become so accustomed to seeing him with it on, though, that his bare cock begins to look underdressed. Slowly, bespoke cages in a glittery rainbow of colors fill out a sleek strongbox near the bed. Choosing what color he’ll wear today is fun for you. The flippancy hurts a little bit, but that sting is what pulls Hoseok in deeper. Neediness to have all this pent-up energy fucked out of his electrified skin fogs Hoseok’s mind and quiets him into obedience with the hopes that you’ll enjoy his plaintive kisses on your legs and give him what he needs. A condescending pat on the head when the strap pulls out of his ass brinks Hoseok into forgetting why he’s shaking yet unsatisfied and begging for more. Thankfully, you’re here to tell him. He’s a whore. Your whore. And, that’s all he really needs to remember. 

 🔑 JIMIN ﹢ passion

Jimin has always known chastity would be easy for him. He’s operating on intoxicatingly high levels of horniness every second of the day, anyways. He’s learned to cope valiantly. With his own pleasure defined loosely he readily offers one facet of it for the comforting notion he’ll be gifted a plethora of new intimacies. The cage will bring you closer. He knows it will. Scheduled check-ins keep you fed on each other’s attention. Randomly sending him a partial nude of yourself during the day with the promise you’ll give him one number of this week’s passcode for every photo he recreates to your liking has Jimin rushing to the nearest public bathroom, heart hammering with both desire for you and hope for good lighting to pose in. Tracking tasks on the daily habit app to earn evenings without the cage motivates Jimin to do the things he wants to do for you but sometimes lacks the energy for, like practicing the piano and providing you accompaniment when you sit with your cello. Caged sex is, however, never a loss. Jimin might prefer if you simply told him you love how creatively you please each other in bed without adding that you want to start incorporating anything from foot massage to prostate toys into his tasks. Nonetheless. This light in your eyes as you’re overtaken by whims of intrigue is too sexy for Jimin to resist.  

 🔑 NAMJOON ﹢ self-improvement

 other kinks - sub training, toys, voyeurism/exhibitionism, filming

Mediocre sex isn’t worth your time. Namjoon adores that you hold him to your standards. The intense single-minded drive that consumes him when you turn him on is redirected and channeled into other forms of pleasing you. Graduations from watching you use toys on yourself, to using toys on your body at your direction, to free play with the toys, to eventually repeat the process incorporating hands-on techniques fascinates Namjoon more than anything. In a scheme of education the cage is simply a reminder that you haven’t gotten to that part yet. Until then, Namjoon keeps the records of how many times he’s made you come this week and how he did it with fervor. Watching old videos of himself fucking you to take notes distracts from purpose; but, Namjoon can click his pen, shake his head, and refocus on a studious attitude. An extravagant rewards system combined with aftercare orgasms stop Namjoon from getting antsy. This venture is predicated on his ache to study your individuality, but you need to feel him savoring the process, too. When he is granted momentous opportunities to show you what he’s learned, mutual gratitude shines. 

 🔑 SEOKJIN ﹢ modesty

 other kinks - cuckolding, threesome

Seokjin asks about it often. If he’s too big, or too small—if you would like his cock better if it was thicker, or harder, or softer, more curved; a different shade of pink. “Stop with the inane questions,” you finally snap during attempts to assuage him for the hundredth time when it’s obvious you love it because you’re laying here blushing and cooing while you jerk it off, “or I’ll lock it up.” Seokjin shuts up; flustered. Coyness isn’t Seokjin’s usual style when talking about kinky things. Yet, chastity gives you an unusually sulky boyfriend. When you ask if this is what he’s wanted all along Seokjin won’t deny it. He’s also too embarrassed by how good it feels to say “yes”. There has always been an understanding in this relationship. You’re the only person he gives himself to like this. Fully. Wholly. Through that virtue of submission you’re falling in love with his body all over again. You kiss him deeper as if to imprint your love. You tease him harder, but pet him softer and let him cuddle him tighter. Seokjin has wistful daydreams about romantic vanilla missionary and hearing you moan in approval when the cage comes off; but, he also knows he can get confused. If you decide what’s best for him is listening to your fond laughter at how hard he’s dripping through the cage while you warm each other up for the guy who’ll be arriving in a few minutes—he trusts your judgment without question. 

[exoticarmyofcrowns]

dilwale | pjm [m.]

pairing: jimin x fem!reader

summary: a trip across europe turns a bit more interesting when you meet park jimin, a shameless flirt with a penchant for trouble. dilwale (dil-wah-ley): [hindi] the good-hearted, the strong-hearted, lover

genre: romance, fluff, minor angst (pining), smut, dilwale dulhania le jayenge!au (this is not a thing but i made it one oop)

warnings: LOTS of pining (god so much pining) / some cursing / copious amounts of fluff / (bad) flirting / banter / allusion to being taken advantage of BUT IT’S FALSE / lots of feelings / lots of consent (bc consent is sexy) / switch!jimin / switch!reader? / the smut is pretty soft ngl / praise kink sorta? (bc come on is it a jimin fic w/o it) / creampie / excessive use of the word sweetheart / thicc!jimin / unprotected sex (WRAP IT BEFORE YOU TAP IT PLSSSS) / tease!jimin / riding / aaaaand i think that’s it??

word count: ~15.6k

a/n: hello ya girl is BACK w another self-indulgent fic hehe THIS ONE’S FOR MY FELLOW DESIS AND BOLLYWOOD LOVERS!!!! ddlj is my absolute favorite movie in the entire world and i just wanted some representation dammit lol this is heavily based on the plot of that movie but obviously with some changes for my own artistic purposes. shout out to @moonlytae​ for helping me decide which member it should be and @joonies-girl-08​ for the fountain scene u guys are the best! as always, a big thank u to @jooniecult​ for ur expertise, u da best! i hope you all enjoy this, i had so much fun writing it!

“Shit shit shit!”

You’re sprinting through the terminal, checking the directory clutched in your hands as you try to both watch where you’re going and find the damn platform you’re supposed to be on. Your friends and you have been planning this trip for weeks now and you’ve already fucked up by waking up late with barely any time to spare as you frantically waved down a taxi to the train station. You and your friends are taking the Eurail across Europe to celebrate your college graduation and you really should have been at the station about 20 minutes ago but you can blame your overexcitement—and the subsequent lack of sleep—for that.

Of course, luck was not on your side as there was an accident mere minutes from the station. London traffic at its finest. You made the split-second decision to abandon the cab, throwing an apology and a few bills over the divider before running the rest of the way. A glance at your watch says that you’re mere seconds away from missing your train and the thought pushes you to pump your legs faster, backpack slapping against your back with bruising force as you attempt to drag your small carry-on behind you.

Turning a swift corner, you catch sight of the platform you’re looking for. The train doors are still open, thank god, but you know they will close any second. You’re not sure that you’re gonna make it when you see a hand pop out of the open doors, beckoning you to grab hold. Figuring you have nothing to lose now, you take it, arm jolting you through the automatic doors just as they slide shut.

Collapsing with relief, you rest your hands on your knees as you try desperately to catch your breath. The latch on your suitcase has snapped open, spilling the contents onto the floor. You curse, frantically stuffing the carrier full again. You don’t necessarily have anything to hide but you’re not really looking to literally air out your laundry to strangers. Speaking of, you remember you never actually thanked your savior for pulling you to safety. You look up, an expression of gratitude on your lips when you catch sight of the person who helped you onto the train. Your mouth dries as you struggle to form a coherent sentence.

To say he’s gorgeous would be the understatement of the century. He’s absolutely stunning, almost fairy-like with his delicate features and mischievous eyes. It’s a direct contrast to the way he’s dressed, t-shirt tucked into sinfully-tight jeans and a leather jacket thrown over his shoulders. His hair is the softest shade of pink you’ve ever seen and you’re tempted to run your fingers through it.

The sound of someone clearing their throat snaps you out of your reverie. You glance up at the man’s face to see his eyes glimmering with mirth and you know you’ve been caught checking him out. You straighten abruptly, cheeks warm with something other than exertion.

“Um,” you begin, cursing yourself internally for how lame you sound, “th-thank you. You know, for pulling me in.”

“It was no problem.” The words come out like a purr and the effect is not lost on you, heart pounding just a little harder in your chest. 

You clear your throat nervously and look away from his piercing gaze. You realize you’re both standing in the gangway connection. The handsome stranger seems to realize this at the same time because he glances over to the door and drops his own bag to try and pry it open. He struggles for a moment before knocking loudly on the door.

“Anyone over there?” He tugs uselessly on the door one more time before stepping away, hand running through his pink strands in frustration. He glances over to you looking a little sheepish. “Looks like we’re stuck here for a little.”

“Ah.” You sigh, not sure what else to say so you remain silent. You go to check your phone but remember that it had died midway through your taxi ride. Flopping down onto the ground, you figure you’re gonna be here a while so you pull out the book you brought to keep yourself entertained and flip to where you left off.

Just as you’re getting back into the story, you see the stranger settle down next to you a little closer than you would have liked. While you can admit the man is attractive, you’re still strangers. You have no idea who this guy is; he could be a mugger for all you know! Okay, that was probably not very likely but you can never be too careful.

“So,” he begins, leaning his head back to peer at you, “have we met before? You look awfully familiar.”

You frown. Of course you haven’t met him before, you’re sure you would have remembered such a stunning man. Not that you’d admit that out loud. “Uh…no?” It comes out a bit harsher than you intend but he recovers well.

“Ah, I see. My mistake.” He flashes you a sweet smile and you return it, albeit a little uncomfortably. You try to return to your book but he interrupts you yet again. “It’s just that, your eyes…”

“What?” you practically snap. “What’s wrong with my eyes?”

“Nothing,” he simpers, eyes boring into yours. “They just remind me of someone.”

“Oh? Who?” The beginnings of a sneer are curling at the corners of your mouth but you manage to bite it back. You cannot, however, keep the impatience from leaking into your tone.

“My mother,” he answers back, gaze turning fond if not a little dreamy. “Her eyes are just like yours, soft and warm and—”

“Listen, that’s very sweet and all but I’m just trying to get back with my friends so if you could, just please leave me alone?” You’re trying really hard not to get tight with this guy but you know his type—pretty boys with an agenda. This trip is for you and your girls and you’re not about to let some schmuck ruin it for you.

He raises his arms in a gesture of defeat. “Alright, alright. I was just trying to break the ice. No need to worry.” Settling back against the wall, he tips his head back to close his eyes and you relax slightly.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see him shift uncomfortably but choose to ignore him in favor of your book. 

“Excuse me, are these…?” You feel a nudge against your arm and you frown, directing your attention back to him.

Dangling from his fingers is a thong. Your thong, to be exact. 

A gasp of mortification tears itself from your throat as you rip the offending garment from his grasp, rushing to shove it back into your backpack. The man has the nerve to laugh at your embarrassment.

“I thought so,” he chuckles, a dangerous smirk curving at the corners of his plump lips. Even his mouth is a pretty pink. You catch yourself staring again and quickly curse yourself, pushing yourself further against the wall of the gangway and away from him.

“Wouldn’t have pegged you for a black lace kind of girl.”

You whip around to fix him with your most annoyed glare. The fuck was wrong with this guy? “Excuse me?”

He’s still wearing that insufferable smirk and you have to fight the urge to slap it off his stupid face. “It’s just…you seem so pure. Sure that ain’t a little out of your league, sweetheart?” 

Mouth agape, you can’t even formulate a proper response to that. “I don’t see how that’s any of your fucking business?”

You congratulate yourself a little when you see his eyes widen fractionally, clearly taken aback by your response. Serves him right, creepy bastard. He drops the subject and you raise your book again to resume reading, albeit with a bit more force than necessary. You can hardly focus on the words, too caught up on the last few minutes to read properly. 

You’re halfway through a mental smackdown of Cotton Candy Headass when you feel something making its way into your lap. Startled, you look down only to see the little gremlin squirming his way into your space and under your book. You shoot him an incredulous look, unsure whether to laugh at the sheer gall or scream in his face. 

“Don’t stop on my account.” He smiles disarmingly bright and you would be entranced if you weren’t so annoyed. “I was just curious to see how you could read a book upside down. Very interesting style!”

You glance at the way you’re holding your book, face warming at the realization that you were in fact holding it upside down. Fuck.

“Alright, jackass,” you begin, pushing against his shoulders in an effort to dislodge him from your lap, “enough is enough—”

Just then, the cabin door slides open revealing one of your friends. You and Cotton Candy Creep turn your heads to your friend at the same time. Your friend raises a brow at you in a silent question.

“___? What are you doing here?” You sigh, opening your mouth to answer her, but a low voice beats you to it. 

“Why hello there, my dear. Did I keep you waiting?” Picking yourself up from the ground, you roll your eyes as you gather your bags. First you, now your friend? This guy doesn’t give up.

“I was scared you had missed the train.” Your friend, Sheena, says the words to you but is looking at your strange companion, eying him up like she wants to devour him. 

“Oh, not to worry, darling, I caught it just in time.” He sidles up next to Sheena, leaning against the wall with one arm.

“Good, I was…worried.” She twirls a lock of hair around her finger and you have to remind yourself that you love your friend more than you want to throttle her at this moment.

You sling your backpack across your shoulders before picking up your suitcase. If you had gotten the chance to eat breakfast this morning, you’re sure you would have thrown it up already.

“By the way, what’s your name?” He holds a hand out like a gentleman, as if he weren’t just commenting on your lingerie not ten minutes ago.

“Sheena…” 

“Park Jimin, at your service” he returns, grasping Sheena’s proffered hand to kiss the back of it, and you decide you’ve finally had enough.

“Oh, Sheena~” you sing-song, wiggling your fingers in a mock wave. “I’m over here. Shall we go?”

She has the decency to look sheepish as she turns to you, reaching out for  your arm so she can pull you to her side.

“Allow me.” Jimin, the little imp, slides the door open with a flourish, sending a last wink at your friend. You usher your friend through before she can get another word in edgewise. As you step through the door, you make sure to knock his knees as hard as you can with your suitcase, taking pleasure in the hiss of pain that escapes him.

As the door shuts behind you, you can’t help but mutter, “I hate men.”

“___, come on! Are you ready?”

You have just finished placing the finishing touches on your makeup when Sheena calls you from the bedroom. Sending one last appraising look, you deem yourself ready and make your way out of the bathroom.

“I’m here, I’m here,” you chuckle, throwing your small purse over your shoulder. “Let’s go!”

Grabbing your other friends, your small group makes its way down to the lobby. The hotel is having a party sponsored by Eurail in the middle of Paris and you can’t help but feel a little excited. You’re having a great time so far, surrounded by your girls, in the city of love no less, and you feel giddy at the thought of what’s to come.

You follow the directions on the invitation and find yourselves in a ballroom located in the back of the hotel. The doors open and the sight that greets you is—

Underwhelming.

The room is dotted with tables and waiters traverse the space, glasses full of bubbling liquid balanced skillfully on trays. It’s almost unnervingly silent as a drab opera singer sings on what you think is actually a dance floor that has been repurposed into a stage. You exchange wary glances with Sheena and the other girls before making your way through the cluster of tables and settling on one closest to the bar and furthest from that damned opera singer.

“Oh god, this party is so boring,” Sheena whines beside you, picking up a menu and flicking through it.

“I told you it would be,” one of your other friends, Jennie, pipes up.

“Yeah well, you also said that the train would get into an accident, the hotel would burn down, and we’d be poisoned by the food so forgive us if we were inclined to ignore your premonitions.” You roll your eyes playfully, nudging her with your foot to let her know you were joking,

“Hey, hey, ___. Look.” Sheena shakes you as you scan the appetizers, prompting you to look up to where she’s pointing at the entrance. “It’s your loverboy. And he brought friends.”

“Oh crap,” you whine, whipping back around and sinking lower in your seat. You hope he hasn't seen you.

“‘Loverboy’?” Jennie asks with a frown.

“I found him curled up in ___’s lap when I went looking for her.” Sheena smirks at you while you try to melt into the floor.

“Shut up, Sheena, you know it wasn’t like that. Especially considering the fact that the two of you started flirting right in front of me.”

“Oh. come on. Lighten up, it was only a bit of harmless fun. I wouldn’t dream of taking your man.”

You splutter. “He’s not my anything—”

“Hey! We should invite them over!” Jennie smiles obliviously. You love the girl to death but sometimes she can be a bit…airheaded.

“That is a great idea, Jen,” Sheena shoots you a devious look and before you can stop her, she’s already flagging the group over. You wish the earth would open and swallow you up—better yet, take both you and Sheena so you can have the pleasure of throttling her yourself.

The boys make their way over to you before you can think of an escape plan and you stare resolutely at your menu in an effort to block them out.

“Hi, Sheena.” His voice is just as soft and seductive as you remembered and it sends a familiar heat flashing across your skin but you quickly stifle it. He looks good, you notice begrudgingly. He’s wearing black slacks and a black blazer with a white t-shirt to give a casual vibe. He’s topped off the look with pink tinted glasses that make him look like some celebrity. You think it would be pretentious if it were anyone else but unfortunately, he makes it work. The slacks hug his legs almost sinfully tight, highlighting the strong muscles of his thighs and the rounded curve of his— 

Snap out of it! You abruptly stop your scrutiny there, shoving your face back into your menu. You will not let him affect you like he did in the train. You won’t. Still, you can’t help sneaking a glance over to him only to find he’s already staring at you. “Hello, sweetheart.” He shoots you a devastating smile along with a wink and you sneer, abruptly turning away.

“Hey, Jimin.” Sheena simpers and she’s laying it on a little thick, you think, but you know it’s all for show. “Who’re your friends?”

“Ah, this is Jung Hoseok and Jeon Jeongguk.” Jimin points first to a young man with the brightest smile you’ve ever seen and then to a slightly younger man whose eyes and nose crinkle cutely as he waves in greeting. The three of them are stunning and you’re left wondering how all the attractive people seem to find each other.

Birds of a feather, you suppose.

The boys make themselves comfortable at your table and you try your best not to grimace. Jimin may be an asshole but the other two have done nothing wrong. You actually quite like them. You’re enjoying listening to a story about the time they got kicked out of a karaoke bar when you overhear parts of another conversation happening across the table.

“You know, Sheena, I think I’ve seen you before.” Jimin is leaning close to your friend as if they are sharing some sordid secret. An unknown emotion churns in your stomach.

“Oh, really? What makes you say that?” 

“Your eyes. They remind me of someone.” You stiffen. Now, there’s a familiar line. The nerve of this bastard, reusing pick up lines? How much more pathetic can you get? You clear your throat, trying to appear interested in your conversation with Jeongguk and Hoseok while also keeping tabs on your friend.

“Oh? Whose?”

Jimin has a coy smile curving the corners of his plump lips. “My mother.”

Sheena coos at his words and you can’t bear to hear any more. You stand up abruptly, glasses clinking on the table with the force of your exit. 

“I’m going to get a drink,” you murmur to no one in particular and stalk over to the bar. You’re craving the burn of a shot or even the dim haze of wine but you abandon those notions in favor of a water, flagging down the bartender. You chug it a little desperately, relishing in the cooling effect as the water tempers the annoyance you feel for your unwelcome companion. Taking a deep breath, you push away from the bar and make your way back to the table where you find Jeongguk and Hoseok complaining about the music choice.

“I’m just saying, this party could be bumpin’ if the music wasn’t shit.” Hoseok glances over at the poor woman singing her heart out on the dance floor. 

Jeongguk sits up suddenly, a devious smile lighting up his face. “Let me see what I can do. Come with me.” He grasps Hoseok’s arm as he gets up, hoisting the man out of his seat.

“Where’re you going?” you ask Hoseok but he looks just as lost as you do. The younger man tugs at his arm, dragging him off to the other side of the room.

“Beats me.” Hoseok shrugs and he disappears with Jeongguk in the sea of waiters and tables.

You’re left a little dumbfounded as the pair leaves you but you shrug it off. You try to enjoy the evening before remembering that Jimin is currently flirting his way into your friend’s pants and your mood sours once again. Just as you’re in the middle of planning your escape, the lights dim and a voice comes on the loudspeaker.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” you recognize the voice as Hoseok’s and you can’t help but laugh in disbelief. “We are now going to progress to some beats that are a bit more…exciting. Ready, set, and begin!”

A song with a heavy bass and a pleasing trap beat bleeds from the speakers and the room seems to buzz with life all at once. A few squeals and cheers fill the air as people rush to the dance floor at the center and begin dancing wildly. You laugh, shocked that the boys managed to liven up this party in a matter of minutes.

They walk back over to your table with self-satisfied smirks on their faces. You smile widely at them as they approach. “That was awesome! How did you manage that?”

“I just hacked into the speaker system and synced up my music playlist.” Jeongguk looks rather bashful but still proud as he flashes you a sweet smile.

“Shall we dance, then?” Hoseok bows with a flourish and you giggle fondly, nodding excitedly. You glance over your shoulder and spot Sheena still with Jimin except now he has his hand out in a question and she takes it before following the pink-haired man to the dance floor. 

You don’t feel so good anymore but you’re determined not to let some prick ruin your night. So, you turn back to the boys resolutely and lead them into the throng of writhing bodies.

Jeongguk and Hoseok, you quickly learn, are incredible dancers. The power with which the two of them move is truly a sight to behold and you’re having a hard time keeping up. You manage to have a good time, though; when Jeongguk sees you struggling, he strikes a ridiculous pose and makes up the silliest moves, making you laugh merrily. 

Unfortunately, you can’t keep your gaze from flitting over to Jimin and Sheena every so often. They seem to be getting awfully close, you think as Jimin pulls your friend close to him and the sight is almost too much. Why, you’re not sure and you don’t want to let yourself think about it. You thought you were being discreet about it but Hoseok seems to notice your shift in demeanor.

“You’ve been moping for the past few minutes now.” He nods at something over your shoulder and you know exactly what he’s referring to. “Why don’t you go ask him to dance?”

Your eyes flicker back to the happy couple of their own volition and you spot Sheena leaning up to whisper something in Jimin’s ear. You wish you were anywhere but here.

“What? No, I— That’s not…no,” you finish lamely, knowing full well that was not the least bit convincing but not finding the will to care. Hoseok looks unimpressed and you’re about to reassure him when you feel a gentle tap on your shoulder.

“May I cut in?” The velvety smooth voice caresses your skin and god you wish he’d stop appearing everywhere. You’re almost rendered speechless as you stare into Jimin’s eyes, soft and playful with an undercurrent of mischief that both intrigues and irritates you. You glance at Jeongguk and Hoseok but they merely share a look, smirking at each other as they not-so-subtly back away from the two of you. Left with no other option, you gently sway to the beat of the song, allowing yourself to fall in rhythm with Jimin.

It’s awkwardly silent for the first few moments before Jimin finally pipes up.

“Why do you hate me so much?” He steps minutely closer to you and all you can see is Sheena pressed up against him as she whispers in his ear. An inexplicable anger flashes through you.

“Why do you make it so easy to hate you?” you fire back.

Jimin raises a brow at your tone but otherwise shows no outward reaction to your hostility. It only serves to irritate you further.

Just to make matters worse, he starts laughing. It’s a soft, tinkling sound and you hate how much you like it. “I think I know why.”

“You don’t know shit,” you spit, fists clenching at your sides. You have half a mind to smack him right there on the dance floor but you know it would only cause a scene. That’s the last thing you need on this night from hell.

Suddenly, he grasps your waist and spins you around so that your back is pressed to his front. You try to squirm away but he’s surprisingly strong, keeping you locked in place with one hand around your waist and the other caressing up the length of your body. You tremble as he begins to sway.

“I think you like me.” The words are nothing but a whisper, soft breaths fanning out across your skin and creating goosebumps in their wake. The music has slowed significantly and you can feel the bass reverberating through your chest.

“L-Like hell I do!” You curse internally at the way your voice stutters but he merely laughs, sending shivers up and down your spine.

“Then why can I feel you shaking?” Jimin guides your hips with his, coaxing your body to move according to his whim. You feel him along every dip and curve to the point you’re not even sure where he ends and you begin. It’s sensual and dizzying and ridiculously sexy.

“Because I can’t stand the feeling of your hands on me.” You’re desperate to hold onto some shred of your dignity, no matter how slim,  but then you feel the tip of his nose glide up the length of your neck and your brain short-circuits. You only just manage to reign in the urge to bare yourself to him, to submit, but you’ll be damned if you let him have any more control over you.

“Then why haven’t you pulled away yet, hmm?” You swear you feel his lips brush your shoulder and your eyes slip closed of their own accord. “I’m not even holding you anymore.”

It takes a second for his words to register but when they do, it’s as if he’s dumped a bucket of cold water over you. Your eyes snap open as you realize his arm is no longer holding you in place but merely draped across your middle in a loose embrace. You could pull yourself free if you just moved slightly forward. 

You’re not even sure when that happened and you know he knows this. This is just a game to him and you? You’re just another plaything at his disposal. The thought leaves a bitter taste in your mouth and you practically rip yourself away from Jimin as if you’ve been burned.

“I-I have to go.”

“Wait—” Jimin starts to say but you don’t wait around long enough to hear him out. You’ve seen and heard enough for one night,

Grabbing your purse, you all but run out of the ballroom, barely remembering to shoot Sheena a text that you were heading back to the room early. Tears sting at your eyes but you refuse to let them fall, especially not over the likes of Park Jimin. He’s nothing more than a pathetic excuse for a man looking for a quick lay. He’s not worth it, you desperately try to remind yourself.

But somehow, as you wait for the elevator, as you feel the ghost of his touch on your waist and the soft caress of his breath on your skin, your heart refuses to believe that as the truth.

It’s been 3 days since what you’ve deemed as The Incident, and you’re happy to report that you have yet to see Park Jimin.

Of course, you’ve seen him—you’re on a tour together after all—but you’ve made it a point to actively ignore him any chance you get. Sometimes you’ll run into Hobi (as he’s reminded you numerous times to call him) or Jeongguk and talk to them for a while but you don’t linger too long, for fear he’ll just pop up out of nowhere. You feel bad because you genuinely like the other boys but every time you catch sight of Jimin’s pink cotton candy head, your heart beats a little faster and your skin runs a little warmer and you just can’t handle that headache right now.

The Eurail train has stopped in a quaint little town on the way to Zürich and you decide to take the opportunity to stretch your legs. Besides, the sooner you get off the train, the less likely you’ll have an encounter with the object of your (des)ire.

Stepping down gently, glance around the station and spot a little road that leads further into the town. You don’t really have a destination in mind, figuring you’ll just walk for a little and then make your way back. You walk until you spot a quaint little souvenir shop and decide to check it out.

A familiar head of pink by the cashier makes you pause in the doorway and you nearly turn around to walk right out but he sees you and calls you over.

“___! Come over here, I need your help.”

You shift from foot to foot. You could just ignore him and continue on your way but the guilt that would follow would be unbearable. So you swallow your pride and make your way over to him, silent and cautious.

As you approach, you see him pouring over a small spread of trinkets. They’re little handmade pieces of jewelry—rings, bracelets, necklaces, you name it. They’re quite cute and would normally have you grinning and cooing but your present company puts a bit of a damper on that for you.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” he begins nonchalantly. He doesn’t look up as you approach and you’re not sure if you’re annoyed or grateful.

You clear your throat awkwardly. “Uh, yeah, I’ve been…busy.”

Jimin looks at you then, a single brow raised that tells you he doesn’t believe you, which is fair. You don’t even believe you. “We’re on a tour of Europe together. What could you possibly be doing?”

You don’t really have an answer for that so you remain silent.

“Okay, nevermind that,” his voice brightens up significantly and you’re marginally grateful for the fact that he’s changing the subject. “Help me pick out a souvenir to take back home!”

A smile plays around the corner of your lips and you quickly bite it back. You will not be endeared by him. Your eyes catch on a small bracelet and you can’t help but fall in love instantly. It’s a delicate gold chain threaded with beautiful black pearls, a small pink flower resting on the end near the clasp. Your lips part as you stare at it for a little too long and you quickly snap yourself out of it to look back at Jimin. He’s already staring at you with a soft look in his eyes. The expression makes your heart clench so you look away, clearing your throat again.

“I-I don’t know,” you dismiss, glancing out the window where you can just barely make out the train. “Just pick something, we’ve gotta get back to the train soon.”

“Alright, alright. Calm down, sweetheart. Gimme two minutes.”

You check your phone impatiently, noting the time. The conductor had said you were stopping for about half an hour before you would be on your way again. You don’t remember the exact time you stopped but you know it’s getting close to the time you should be leaving.

“Sweetheart, can you come here a second? I always forget which coins are which.” Jimin beckons you over, a collection of francs in his palm and you send another despairing glance at the train.

“Jimin, I have no clue but come on, we’ve gotta go!” 

You decide to stop waiting on his slow ass and run out of the shop. You make it to the platform just in time to see the train pulling away. Jimin takes a bit longer than you, practically having to sprint after you, but he stops abruptly as he notices the retreating train. 

He starts to laugh in disbelief and you can’t help the tears that well up in your eyes. All your luggage and most of your money is on that train. And now you’re stranded out here, with Park Jimin no less. You try to hold back but you feel a few tears slip down your cheeks as the train disappears from view.

Jimin seems to notice your distress because he begins to panic a little himself. “S-Sweetheart, come on. It’s okay! Look, at least you’re not alone. I’m here with you!”

That only makes you cry harder, a small sob escaping your lips as you smother your face between your hands. Jimin falls silent, unsure how to handle your emotional display but doesn’t leave your side. It’s both comforting and confusing.

It takes a few minutes but you eventually regain your composure, adamant in avoiding Jimin’s probing gaze. You can’t believe you cried in front of him like a child. You’re embarrassed and annoyed and tired but you channel that energy into fixing yourself up to look like a functioning human being and marching over to the ticket booth and finding out the next train to Zürich. Just your luck, the next train isn’t until tomorrow morning. You quickly text your friends what happened, letting them know you’re safe and that you’ll meet them in Zürich tomorrow afternoon. You sigh, wondering how what should have been an exciting trip turned into such a mess.

“So what’s the damage?” Jimin asks. Oh, right. That’s how. You fight not to roll your eyes as you relay the information. “Oh, that’s no problem! We can just—”

“Oh no,” you cut him off abruptly, seething with annoyance. He thinks you want to spend any length of time with him after he made you both miss your train? Not a chance. “We are not  doing anything, I am going to find my own way to Zürich. You’re the reason we’re stuck here in the first place. I want nothing to do with you.”

Jimin looks taken aback but then his expression hardens. “Listen here, sweetheart, I know you’re pissed but you’re being a bit of a bitch. I’m sorry I made us miss the train but splitting up is the literal worst thing we could do right now. This is not to patronize you but you are a woman alone in a foreign country, I’m not about to abandon you just because you don’t like me. Now let’s just play nice and try to find a place to stay for the night so we can catch the first train out of here and be on our merry way. Deal?”

You blink, surprised by the force of his outburst. Fuck. He’s right. You know he’s right and the wave of shame that overtakes you is well-deserved. You duck your head, thoroughly chastised, and nod at him, following his lead as he turns around and begins walking back in the direction of the town. Glancing at him timidly, you murmur a soft apology.

He turns his head in your direction but doesn’t look at you. “What was that?”

You huff, squaring your shoulders. “I’m sorry, okay? You were right.”

Jimin looks at you then, a blinding smile on his face and you feel your body relax a little. At least he’s not mad at you. 

“No problem, sweetheart. Things like this happen. We just gotta make the most of it.” He falls in step with you so that you’re no longer trailing slightly behind and the gesture warms your heart just a bit.

“Why do you keep calling me sweetheart?” You thought it was just a cheap way to endear himself to you, especially back when he didn’t know your name but the way he says it doesn’t feel gross. It feels almost…nice.

“Oh, uh,” Jimin rubs the back of his neck a little shyly, the beginnings of a blush staining his cheeks, and you can’t help the swell of affection. “Sorry. It just kinda…stuck?”  

“No, it’s…it’s fine.” You look away, suddenly finding the scuffed material of your shoe very interesting.

Clearing his throat, Jimin forces out a gruff, “Good,” and the two of you fall into a companionable silence. 

Eventually, you stumble across a small inn a little ways into town, about a 25 minute walk from the train station. Jimin ducks inside, asserting that he’ll handle the cost of the room to make amends. You try not to smile after him as he leaves.

Key in hand, Jimin leads you to a small but cozy room on the third floor. It’s very quaint, a single bed dominating the room with an old settee off by the window. There’s even a small fireplace and a tea set. You slip your purse off your shoulder as you settle near the mantle.

“Wow, what a cute room!” Sitting on the couch, you marvel at its soft texture. “Where’s yours?”

“Yeah, about that…” Jimin hasn’t really moved from his spot by the door, rubbing at his neck again in what you recognize as a nervous tick. “This was the only room they had so, uh, we gotta share?”

“What?” You blink, hoping that he’s joking. 

“I-I know that it sounds weird but there really was no other option. I’ve already decided to sleep on the couch and you can—”

“Listen, I am fine with sticking together and getting back to our friends but this is just— I can’t…I can’t share a room with you.” You stand up abruptly but you don’t have any idea what to do with yourself.

“Why not?” Jimin seems confused and honestly, you are too. It shouldn’t be such a big deal, especially since you’ve kinda-sorta made up but this is little more than you can handle.

Glancing at him, you shake your head, words failing you. How can you explain that you just feel too much for him to be comfortable around him? How do you tell him that you’re having second thoughts about him being a total pain in the ass or about the stutter in your heart whenever he so much as glances at you? You can’t so you just send him a helpless look before storming out of the room, a flush on your cheeks and a heaviness in the pit of your stomach.

You don’t know where you’re going but anywhere is better than in there with the man that forces you to confront your feelings. Shaking your head, you figure you’ll explore the town a little. You could use the fresh air.

Jimin doesn’t know what else to do.

He’s willing to admit he fucked up with you at that party. He never should have come on that strong but you had looked so beautiful and, even though they were his friends, seeing you with Hobi and Jeongguk had ignited such a strong feeling of jealousy that he was helpless to do anything but whisk you away in his arms. He had spent that night tossing and turning in his bed. Now that he knew what you felt like in his arms, his mind refused to think of anything else.

But then you had run away and Jimin knew that he had crossed a line. He just wanted to tease you, maybe fluster you a bit, but never had he wanted to scare you off. You intrigued him. You were funny and sweet—to your friends at least—and it was quite fun to fluster you with his charms. He knew it was simply a physiological reaction, having nothing to do with any actual attraction to him as a person, but he was willing to take what he could get from you.

That, as it turns out, is absolutely nothing.  He thought he was making progress with you. First and foremost, he realized at some point, he wants to be your friend. He enjoys your company and likes your attitude. It doesn’t hurt that he finds you absolutely stunning but he figures he’ll cross that bridge when he gets to it. Right now, his main focus is getting you to like him and every time he thinks he’s close, something happens and you’re back to despising him. One step forward, two steps back.

Speaking of you, it’s been a few hours since you’d stormed out of the room in a flustered mess. Jimin didn’t understand why sharing a room with him was such a big deal but he respects you enough to recognize that your feelings are your feelings and he should just accept them. He’s beginning to grow worried, though, as the sun has just set on the horizon. It’ll be dark soon and he doesn’t even want to think about what could happen to you, a beautiful young woman, alone on the streets of an unfamiliar town in the middle of the night. 

He checks his phone and curses when he realizes that he still doesn’t have your phone number. It’s decided then; he has to go looking for you. Jimin leaps off the bed, grabbing his wallet from his bag and stuffing the room key inside, before practically sprinting out of the inn. 

Jimin’s not sure how long he searches for you but the light has long-since faded from the sky and the street lights have come on. He’s pretty sure he’s stopped in every shop and establishment along the length of the main road but he has yet to see any sign of you. He wants to keep looking but his stomach gives a ravenous growl and he forces himself to stop and take a break. You’re out here somewhere; he can just stop quickly and then continue his search once he’s gotten something into his stomach.

Ducking into a random bar, Jimin runs a tired hand through his hair. He’s about to head to the bar at the back of the place when he spots you sitting on one of the stools, hunched over a drink. Jimin’s not religious but he thanks every god above that you’re alright. All thoughts of food vanish as relief floods his body, nearly knocking him over with the force of it.

“Hey, sweetheart, you nearly gave me a heart attack. You can’t just run off  like that—”

“Jiminie~!” you cry with a dopey grin on your face as you swivel around to look at him. And, you’re drunk. Figures. 

“Jiminie, I saw the cutest puppy when I was outside and I wanted to take a picture but my phone died and so I couldn’t and I was so sad—”

You start rambling about how much you love puppies and Jimin just rolls his eyes fondly as he pays the tab and decides to get you home, hunger long-forgotten. Eventually he gets you out of the bar and the both of you start walking back to the inn albeit a bit slowly.

You suddenly speak up out of nowhere. “You know, I don’t like you.” 

“Yeah, I know.” Jimin can’t help the bitterness that creeps into his tone but he keeps his expression neutral.

“It’s because of your face.” 

“What about my face?” 

“It’s too pretty. Like what the fuck?? It’s not fair. You’re pretty and handsome and sexy as fuck and it’s just not fair.”

Jimin smiles to himself but tries to sound teasing. “You think I’m sexy?”

“Duh, I may hate you but I’m not blind.” A beat. “Okay maybe I don’t hate you. I hate that you make me feel things.”

“Things?” 

“Yeah, things.” 

“What kind of things?” 

“Bad things. My heart hurts when you talk to me but also when you talk to other girls? But I can’t like you. You’re a flirt. And I don’t like flirts. But I like you.” You seem to realize what you just said because you gasp dramatically. “WAIT, NO I DON'T! Well… kinda. Woah, I’m dizzy.”

You stumble and Jimin catches you, amusement swimming in his eyes as he gazes fondly while you struggle to keep yourself upright. As the pair of you walk towards the inn, you catch sight of a fountain in the middle of the town square and bolt upright, running over to it.

It’s quite pretty, even Jimin will admit. It’s relatively small, carved out of a sand-colored stone in a pretty, almost chalice-like design. Water trickles from a spout on the top where it makes its way down to the pool. Spouts surrounding the round rim all spray a thin stream of water toward the center and little lights within the pool illuminate the coin-covered bottom.

“I’ve always wanted to jump into a fountain!” you say as you stop in front of the structure to admire it.

“Why?!” 

“I don’t know, I saw it in a movie once and it looked fun!” 

Jimin glances over to you nervously and tries to grab your arm surreptitiously. “Well, maybe we should do that another time. You know, when you’re not—” 

SPLASH! 

“—drunk,” he finishes with a sigh.

You giggle in delight as you splash around, fully clothed, in the shallow fountain and Jimin can’t help the swell of affection as he watches you smile brightly. He’s never seen you smile like that before and he wishes he could be the cause of it.

You catch sight of the coins resting on the bottom of the fountain and you gasp dramatically, begging Jimin for a franc to toss in. Jimin laughs but acquiesces, lending you a hand as you struggle to get out of the fountain, dripping water all over the pavement. He watches you fondly as you clutch the coin with both hands up to your face and whisper into it like a prayer, swaying slightly because you are still a little drunk after all, and all he can think is he could watch you forever.

You abruptly open your eyes and throw the coin in, smiling softly as you wave at your coin. God, you’re precious.

“So… What’d you wish for?” 

You look scandalized. “I can’t tell you!” 

“Why not?” 

“Then it won’t come true,” you say as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world and Jimin wonders if it’s possible to die of smiling too much. 

“Ah, I see.”

You start shivering. “I’m cold.”

“That’s what happens when you jump into a fountain in the middle of the night, sweetheart” Jimin shrugs off his jacket and wraps you up in it. It’s not much but it’s better than nothing. You snuggle into the fabric, shivering again.

“I like when you call me that. My heart doesn’t hurt anymore when you say it.” 

Something tightens in Jimin’s heart and he’s overwhelmed with it, petting your hair softly. “Then I’ll say it for the rest of your life, sweetheart.” He whispers the words like they’re something sacred. He thinks they are.

Going slack in his hold, you lean heavily against him and your eyelashes flutter prettily as you struggle to stay awake.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Jimin says and he can’t stop the tender way his voice caresses the nickname or the reverence in his touch as he slips an arm around your waist. 

“Let’s go home.”

You’ve only been awake for a matter of seconds and you already want to die.

You have a splitting headache and your mouth feels like sandpaper. Well yeah that’s what happens when you drink too much, genius. You don’t even remember what happened after your visit to the bar but you figure it was nothing good.

You glance down at your clothes and find an unfamiliar t-shirt and a pair of shorts on your body. There’s clothes strewn across the room, on the bed, on the floor and your heart crawls into your throat. Now you’re concerned. What the hell happened?

Just then Jimin comes in with breakfast, some water, and, bless his soul, ibuprofen.

“Morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?” his voice sounds soft, softer than you’ve ever heard and you’re confused but also swooning? It’s a strange combination.

“Uh yeah, I-I guess I did. What happened last night?” You wince as you move to sit up. Damn, what did you do to make you so sore?

“Last night did quite a number on you, I’ll tell you that.” He laughs as he sets down the tray on the side table, perching himself on the edge of the bed as he looks at you. “How much did you have to drink exactly?” 

“Uh, I kinda lost count after my fifth or sixth vodka soda.” You scratch your head in embarrassment.

“Jesus Christ, how are you alive?” Jimin shakes his head in disbelief. Leave it to you, he figures. 

He hands you some water, which you chug gratefully, and take care to swallow the pills. He watches you, irises warm and pretty and you don’t like the way your heart flutters against your ribcage.

“You were incorrigible last night,” Jimin chuckles and you stiffen. What the fuck does that mean? “You kept pulling me in every direction, hanging off me at any given chance.” His voice is light and teasing and far too casual for what he’s suggesting.

Suddenly it clicks. The clothes strewn everywhere, the soreness, the strange tenderness in Jimin’s voice. 

Holy shit. Holy fuck. 

You slept with him. 

You fucking slept with him.

Jimin is still talking but you can hardly hear him over the ringing in your ears.

“We slept together,” you whisper in disbelief and Jimin immediately stops rambling about whatever the fuck and you’re still reeling with the realization that you fucking slept with him.

“What?” He seems confused but you can’t think about his emotions when yours are swirling around violently in your head, increasing the pounding against your skull and making you want to throw up.

“You fucking slept with me while I was drunk? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Jimin’s eyes widen so much that it would be almost comical if you weren’t absolutely devastated. “What? What the hell are you talking about?” 

But you’re not listening anymore. You can’t, not with the way the blood is rushing too loudly in your ears, or the way your heart has crawled so far up your throat you think you could choke. 

Logically, you know this is not the worst thing in the world, that it may be a bit of an overreaction, but you can’t shake the feeling of wrongness that permeates your body when you think about what a vulnerable position you were in last night. Stupid, you think. How could you be so stupid? A desperate sob meets your ears and you’re all too aware that the gasping breaths are coming from you.

You can hear Jimin trying to reason with you but your body reacts violently, slapping his hands away every time he tries to reach for you. You cry, arms wrapping around your body in an attempt to hold yourself together but you can’t stop the tremors wracking your frame.

“___! Sweetheart, please, will you just—!” 

“No! Get away from me!”

You try to push him, shove him, hit him, but it’s futile and you only cry harder. Finally, Jimin decides enough is enough.

“Listen to me, ___. Listen to me.” Jimin’s hands come up to cradle your head, gentle but firm. His voice leaves no room for argument and you let out a pathetic whimper but look into his eyes nonetheless.

“I know what you think of me. I know you think I’m the scum of the earth, that I'm a flirt and a tease, and maybe I am those things but I am not a monster. Do you hear me? I may push boundaries and irritate you but I would never, ever dream of crossing that line without your explicit and enthusiastic consent.” 

His eyes blaze into yours with a passion you’ve never seen before. He looks serious and stern, but most of all he looks hurt. You did that. Before you can go any further with your self-hatred, he continues. “You were drunk and wet and I needed to get you into a change of clothes. I am telling you the truth when I say nothing happened last night. Believe me, please?”

You stare into his eyes for an immeasurable amount of time, back and forth between his irises and you feel all the tension within you release, as if his touch is a balm you never knew you needed to an ache you never knew you had.

Another whimper escapes you and you throw yourself into Jimin’s arms then, whispering, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” over and over again and he just embraces you, shushing you as he strokes your hair oh so gently.

You stay like that for a long time, simply relishing in the warmth of his body, before you realize what you’re doing. Jimin seems to come back into himself as well because you both pull away from each other at the same time, albeit a bit bashfully.

“Um, so. Why don’t you go get dressed, hm? We’ve got a train to catch.” He starts to move off the bed but turns back to you with a glimmer in his eye. “I will be needing my shirt, though…” He goes to move closer to you as though he were going to take the shirt himself. You lean back instinctively but relax at his wide grin, soft giggle escaping his lips as he leaves you to it.

You gaze after him, a fond smile curving at your lips as you wipe at your tear-stained cheeks, and your heart is too light to worry about anything else.

Refreshed and ready to go, you pull up to the train station almost an hour before your scheduled train. It may be overkill but you are not missing another train, thank you very much. 

While you wait, Jimin gets you both coffee, for which you are eternally grateful. You sit on one of the benches, swinging your legs happily as you sip your drink. Neither of you speak but it’s a comfortable silence. Who would have thought you would get to feel so comfortable around Jimin?

“Let’s play a game” Jimin pipes up out of nowhere. You laugh at his innocent suggestion and decide to humor him.

“Alright I’m down. Whatcha wanna play?”

“Twenty Questions!” He looks so excited you can’t help but tease.

“What are we, 14?”

“If you don’t wanna play, all you have to do is say so, you don’t have to be mean about it.” He pouts and you laugh if only to stifle the urge to coo at him and pinch his cheeks.

“Fine I’ll bite. You go first.” 

“What’s your most embarrassing kink?” 

You smack him upside the head and roll your eyes. “Next.”

The questions continue back and forth for a few minutes, some of them serious, most of them anything but. You laugh until your stomach hurts about the time he got into an argument with his best friend over a dumpling incident.

“Listen, it was a very serious argument—” 

“Over dumplings.” 

“Excuse you, dumplings are very important, I’ll have you know—”

You laugh as he puffs his cheeks out at you. He even looks like a dumpling and you tell him as much, earning another pout from the man. Eventually the topic shifts to more personal things.

“Okay, okay, serious one now,” Jimin says and there’s an unreadable look in his eyes. “Have you ever been in love?”

The question is unexpected and you have to think for a moment. Have you ever been in love? You’re not really sure.

“Dunno,” you shrug. 

“You don’t know? How could you not know?” 

“I’m just not sure if what I felt was love or…something else.”

“Valid, I guess.” He falls silent for a moment before speaking. “I know for a fact I never have.”

This surprises you. “What? A guy like you? Surely, you’ve been in love before.”

“A guy like me?” Jimin smirks as he side-eyes you.

“Y-Yeah you know flirts with anything with a pulse.” 

“Okay, rude.” You both laugh but sober up pretty quickly. “But yeah no. I’ve had a few flings or whatever but never anything I could call love, you know? Just…never really met the right person.”

“What kind of person are you looking for?”

“Well…” He sits up a little straighter in his seat. “I don’t have, like, an ideal type or anything but…all I know is, that when I see them—the person I’m meant to be with—all my heart’s desires and dreams will come true.  And maybe that makes me naive or whatever but I feel like I’ll know when I see them. Maybe not immediately, it might take some time, but I believe my soul will recognize its other half.”

You sit there, shocked and dazed. You hadn’t expected such a serious answer from him. “I— That’s…that’s beautiful.”

“You should hear Jeongguk talk about it.” He laughs softly as he rubs the back of his neck. “Says he’ll hear bells or something. He’s a cute kid.”

“Yeah he is…” You’re still a little dazed hearing him speak so passionately about love. It makes you feel painfully inadequate.

“What about you? What kind of person could sweep the ever-elusive ___ off her feet?”

You pause, unsure how to answer. “Oh, uh… I’ve never actually thought about it? I don’t know, I’ve always felt like, if I think about it too much, I’ll get too excited. I’ve always been the overexcited type.” Jimin chuckles, remembering the other night. He knows that all too well.

“But, uh, yeah. If I think about it, I’ll anticipate it, I’ll wait for it, and if it doesn’t come well… that’ll make the disappointment that much more upsetting.”

Jimin frowns. “Why wouldn’t it come?” 

“I-I don’t know.” You fidget with your fingers, insecure. “What if… What if I never meet someone? What if I do and my heart—my soul—never recognizes its other half?” You look into Jimin’s eyes. “What if I’m just alone?”

His gaze holds yours for an immeasurable amount of time. 

“I think,” he says slowly, and you find yourself hanging off of every word, “that you’re overcomplicating it. Sure, life has its disappointments but it comes with the territory. Having things to look forward to makes life worth living, even if it’s something as simple as waking up the next morning.”

Jimin inches his hand slowly over to where yours rests on the grainy wood of the bench. He nudges your pinky with his own, wrapping your digit with his. It’s a small gesture but it fills you with an inexplicable warmth.

“All I’m saying is, it’s okay to want.” He says it with such conviction that you desperately want to believe him. “And it’s okay to feel disappointed if you don’t get what you want. But don’t let that stop you from doing it.”

You’re silent again but you can’t look away. The words come rushing out before you can stop them. “And what if I already do? Want, I mean.”

His eyes flick between both of yours and you fight a shiver. “Then it’s your job to do something about it.”

The sound of the train’s whistle breaks the moment and you find yourself taking in a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You glance at the approaching train before looking shyly at Jimin.

“The train is coming. Wouldn’t wanna miss it again.” You try to joke but you can’t seem to shake the residual tension from before.

“And yet,” Jimin hums, barely above a whisper, “I find that I want to miss the train again and again.”

The trip wraps up almost too quickly for your liking.

When the two of you reunite with your friends in Zürich, it’s as if something has changed. You find yourself glancing at Jimin more often than not, and he’s almost always staring right back at you. It should unnerve you, you think, but you feel…calm, almost peaceful knowing his eyes are on you. Powerful. You also find yourself thinking about him a lot, often at night once the lights are cut and all your friends are asleep. You can’t shake his words.

It’s okay to want.

It seems obvious; of course it’s okay for you to want things. But when he said it, it was as if he had opened up a whole new world to you. Had you been unintentionally stifling your own desires? What did you want? You can feel something niggling at the edge of your consciousness but it disappears when you try to pinpoint the feeling, like stars when you look too hard at them. It frustrates you and you want to talk to him but where you actively had to avoid him before your little detour, you can’t seem to find him alone for longer than a cursory greeting. An ache has settled low in your stomach and the feeling of something missing pervades you for days after. You don’t sleep well until the end of the tour.

You’re sadder than you thought you’d be to leave this trip but you chalk it up to how much fun you’ve had over the last two weeks. Definitely does not have anything to do with a certain pink-haired man. Absolutely not.

“Be sure to keep in touch, yeah?” Hobi smiles his beautiful sunshiny smile and you can do nothing but return it, pulling him into a warm hug.

“Of course! We’ll have to hit up a karaoke bar together. You know, one that you haven’t been kicked out of.” You elbow him in the ribs playfully.

“That was one time and I told you that to bond! You can’t make fun of me!” But his smile is just as bright if not brighter and you’re really going to miss him. 

You turn to Jeongguk and pull him into a hug as well. “It was so great getting to meet you. Now I know who to call when I need to liven up a party.” 

Flashing you his signature toothy grin, he practically bounces in place. “Anytime, ___. We should definitely hang soon!” After nodding your assent, you wave a final time as he joins Hobi and leaves the platform.

Your friends hug you and tell you they’ll see you later. With a wave, you send them off until you’re left with only one other person. Bracing yourself, you turn around and face Jimin with a shy smile. Your heart gives a dull throb but you ignore it.

“So,” you both begin before collapsing into nervous giggles. God, were you always so awkward? “You first,” he smiles.

“This is it, huh,” you marvel, reminiscing over the last few days. You can’t believe just two weeks ago you two were strangers, enemies even, and now you’re… Well, you’re not sure what you are but it’s definitely an improvement from your first encounter. “Can’t believe two weeks went by so quickly…”

“I know. Seems like just yesterday I was pulling your late ass onto the train,” Jimin smirks at you and you shove his shoulder.

“Yeah and making inappropriate comments about my underwear.” You glare at him playfully but it dissolves into a smile when you see his sheepish grin. 

“I never did properly apologize for that, did I?” He scratches the back of his head and you melt at the familiar gesture. 

“Hey, no worries. We’re cool.” Silence befalls the two of you. It seems to happen a lot recently, but it’s not a bad silence, just a thoughtful one. “Thank you. For everything.”

“It was no problem, sweetheart.” There’s something lurking in the depths of his eyes but you don’t dwell on it.

“Friends?” You stick out your hand between you. You can’t discern why Jimin’s face looks so drawn but the expression disappears just as quickly as you notice it, replaced by a beautiful smile. 

“Friends,” he repeats, soft as he grasps your hand almost reverently.

You look into his eyes and you once again find yourself trapped. The seconds tick on and you can’t bring yourself to remove your hand from his. His grip feels warm and comforting. Right. You don’t know if you want to think about what that might mean.

Inhaling deeply, you finally muster up the will to let go of his hand, albeit a bit begrudgingly. Jimin looks just as reluctant but plasters a smile. You return it, confused as to why there seems to be so much tension but you figure it’s the sadness of parting. Sending a last lingering wave, you go to turn when you feel a hand grip your wrist. You turn in surprise, a question in your eyes.

“I just… I have something for you.” Jimin lets you go for a moment to pull out a small box. He hands it to you, bashful. You accept it gently and slide the lid open. Inside, is the bracelet from that souvenir shop. The black pearls gleam back at you in the fluorescent light of the station and you have the strangest urge to cry. You look up at him, touched beyond belief.

“You—”

“May I?” He gestures to the bracelet and it takes a second for you to understand what he’s asking, too caught up in his thoughtfulness, but you nod silently when you do. You’re not sure you trust your voice right now.

Jimin beams, delicately taking the bracelet out of the box and wrapping the thin gold chain around your wrist. He clasps it securely so that the pink flower just brushes the inside of your wrist. Your skin tingles where he grazes you and the warmth spreads throughout your body until you’re filled with it. You look up at Jimin, eyes shining a little and you do your best to blink them back.

“I saw you looking at it back at the shop. Figured you’d like it.”

“I love it,” you whisper and you feel like it means so much more.

“Well…” Jimin clears his throat and steps away to a more appropriate distance. You hadn’t even realized you were practically on top of him. “I guess I should get going.”

“Yeah, you— I-I should head out, too.” You don’t want him to go, you realize, but you have nothing to convince him to stay. So you let him go.

“Bye, sweetheart.”

“Bye, Jimin.”

You both back away slowly from each other, as if to extend the moment just a bit longer. He doesn’t look away from you and so you don’t either. Eventually, you have to turn around to actually watch where you’re going. When you look back, he’s gone.

There’s a lingering emptiness in your chest as you walk home, not even bothering with a taxi this time. The feeling of something missing has only worsened, and now it’s at its peak. You’re worried that you’ve missed your chance to find it and the knowledge that it might be too late lingers like an intrusive thought.

You deflate, shoulders hunching protectively as you make your way through the city. From what you’re protecting yourself from, you’re not sure. The bracelet on your wrist feels heavy, like a shackle, and you wonder if you’ll ever be able to look at it without feeling the ghost of his touch on your skin.

Just under two weeks have passed since the Eurail tour and you haven’t felt the same since.

You expected it somewhat. That’s what traveling does to you. It makes you appreciate the beauty of the world, shows you a new way of life, and changes your perspective and you never leave a new place the same as when you enter it. But the reason for this change has nothing to do with the wonders of a new country.

No, it centers on one person. Park Jimin.

It doesn’t take you long to realize what the emptiness means, to recognize the shape of the hole that has permanently taken up residence in your heart. You find yourself plagued by it at night, tossing and turning until you eventually fall into a fitful and restless sleep. 

He starts to permeate every facet of your life. It first begins with the dreams, your memories teasing you with glimpses of his round face and delicate cheeks, of warm brown eyes that seem to look right through you to your core, smoldering. Then it escalates quickly to lingering touches on the back of your hand when you know you’re alone or the bracelet on your wrist will suddenly feel too hot, like a brand, and it’s like he’s surrounding you—his arms around your waist, his scent filling your lungs, his breath cooling your feverish skin. You feel suffocated but the illusions leave you more empty each time.

Finally it gets worse; you start to see him everywhere. On your way to work, to the grocery store, to the bank—it doesn’t matter but your mind always tricks you into thinking you’ve caught sight of the familiar shock of pink hair or his signature leather jacket. Each time sends you reeling and you reach out briefly only for the haze to clear and you remember how very much alone you are. You even start to hallucinate his voice, the way sweetheart would flow so easily from his lips, a balm to your searing heart, and you think you might need to start seeing someone about this. It can’t be healthy.

Still, life goes on and so do you—for the most part anyway. You still work at the little convenience store around the corner from your apartment just to fill the time since there are no classes for you to take. You’re still waiting to hear back from schools about graduate programs but you don’t worry about it too much. You’re confident in your grades and your abilities to know you’ll be okay, it’s just a matter of time.

Your shift passes relatively quickly, time seeming even more meaningless since returning from your trip. You fiddle with your phone, shooting a quick text to Sheena confirming that you’ll see her tomorrow for dinner. You’re not really up for it but you haven’t seen much of anyone in the last two weeks and you miss her so you decide to go. 

Which reminds you, Hobi had managed to get your number and text you, asking if you wanted to go out next weekend with him and Jeongguk. You want to go but you’re not sure if you can get through an evening of them without thinking of a certain pink-haired man. Sighing, you glance at the time and note that it’s time to shut down the registers and begin closing. 

Just as you turn around the grab the money bag from underneath the counter, you hear the bell of the door tinkle open.

“Sorry,” you call, straightening as you reach for the register keys, “we’re actually clos—” Your breath catches in your throat. “Oh, god, I’m actually going insane,” is what makes it out of your mouth before you can stop yourself.

Before you stands the object of your hallucinations in all his pink-haired glory. You blink several times, hoping the image will disappear quickly. When it doesn’t, your jaw goes slack.

Jimin looks just as shocked as you do but recovers faster. Of course he does. 

“___?”

You inhale sharply, trying to focus but it’s hard when he’s right in front of you and god, you’re not prepared for this—

“Hey, hey, sweetheart, are you alright?” The nickname rolls off his tongue so easily, like a gentle caress, and a strange feeling of relief fills you. Jimin approaches the register carefully, as if worried he’d scare you away if he moved too quickly. Maybe he’s right.

Your eyes drink him in greedily despite everything. He looks…good. An orange short-sleeved shirt with white and navy blue accents is tucked stylishly into a pair of black jeans that hug his legs nicely. You feel very insecure all of a sudden in your work uniform and you duck your head shyly. Finally, you find your voice as you clear your throat and tuck a stray hair behind your ear.

“H-How are you?” You wince at how small your voice sounds. Your heart flutters so fast in your chest you struggle to catch your breath but at the same time…it’s the first time you’ve been able to truly breathe. 

Jimin’s eyes soften and he smiles that smile that makes your knees weak. “I’m good. Very good. I— Are you closing up now?”

“Yeah, I’m, yeah. If you give me, like, 20 minutes, we can head out, together?” It comes out like a question but Jimin is nodding before you can even second-guess yourself and you’re running around like a madwoman trying to clear the register and finish restocking the last box from storage. After a final cursory glance and a mental run-down of your closing checklist, you deem yourself ready to leave. You spare Jimin a quick smile, motioning him to follow you out and you close up shop. 

“My, um,” you begin, unsure if it’s too forward for you to say this but you’re tired of constantly running around in circles to avoid your emotions. It’s time to face them head-on, dammit! “My apartment is just a few blocks over if you…if you wanted to stop over for some tea?”

You hold your breath for some reason as you wait for his response. His answering smile is dazzling. “Tea sounds wonderful. Lead the way.”

You don’t remember the walk to your apartment, which is literally around the corner, ever feeling so long. You’re all too aware of his proximity, can feel the faint warmth he emanates from his body, and you find yourself too preoccupied with the way his arm brushes yours as you walk side-by-side. Neither of you speak but it’s comfortable, just like it was when you parted. Though you are anxious to see him, a sense of calm pervades deep within you and you welcome instead of ignore the feeling.

As you step into your apartment, you panic slightly as you struggle to remember if you’ve cleaned up enough while toeing off your shoes. You send a surreptitious glance around, satisfied that nothing looks too out of place as you lead Jimin into your small kitchen.

“Black or green?” you ask him, gazing up at him only to find him staring unabashedly at you. He startles, seemingly embarrassed to have been caught but does not look away.

“Black would be great.” You smile, nodding before setting up a kettle to boil on the stove before turning to him. You’re not sure where to begin but it seems you don’t have to. 

“I missed you.”

Those few simple words send a pang through your heart and any resolve you had bleeds through you as you try not to melt into the floor.

“I missed you, too,” you whisper back, scared to speak too loudly and break the beautiful tension that’s building around you.

Jimin looks down at the floor, as if the knowledge that you missed him too was too much for him. “I-I thought about you. All the time.”

You soften, shuffling closer to him where he is braced against the fridge. His eyes are swimming with that familiar tenderness and you can actually recognize it. He looked at you the same way on that morning in the inn.

“I thought about you, too.” You feel more confident now. Something about knowing that he’s just as shy and uncertain makes you relax significantly. “God, I saw you everywhere. I thought I was going crazy.”

“I dreamt about you.” He says this in a rush, as if he thinks he needs to get to words out in case you stop him. With the way you’re hanging off every word, you think it’s safe to say you’re just as eager to listen as he is to speak. “About you, about us. I— I kept replaying the moment at the train station, thinking how stupid I was for letting you go—”

“Hey, hey, shh.” You close the distance between you, placing a gentle hand on his chest. “I let you go, too. We’re both a little stupid.”

Jimin breathes a laugh, tense shoulders relaxing as he fixates on your hand on his chest. “You’re still wearing it,” he breathes in wonder, bringing his own hand up to clasp yours as he inspects the bracelet still on your wrist.

“Yeah, I— It’s my favorite thing I own.” Jimin’s eyes practically melt into yours, the warm chestnut irises looking down at you with such fondness you can’t stop the swell of affection from rising within you. You think you’re going to burst from the amount of adoration and feelings swirling around inside you but it’s pleasant. You’re buzzing with excitement, no longer heavy with what ifs. 

Jimin seems to realize how close you two actually are at the same time you do because his bright smile gradually fades as his gaze flickers down to your lips. The air stills around you and your breath hitches. Anticipation swirls in the pit of your stomach, cloying and intoxicating.

“___,” he calls and you shiver a little at the sound of your name dripping from his lips like honey. “Sweetheart, may I kiss you?”

You nod, inhaling deeply. “Yes, please.”

Beaming, Jimin grasps the hand on his chest firmer and moves his other hand to cradle your cheek tenderly. He bends his head down, brushing your noses together sweetly. Your eyes slip closed of their own accord and you wait, lips parted as you feel his breath wash over you. A beat passes and suddenly you’re kissing, those plump lips that you’ve been dreaming about for days finally on yours. A tingle passes between your lips and you gasp, mouth parting more under the soft pressure of Jimin’s. He kisses you sweet and slow, as if savoring the taste of you. You feel his fingers thread their way into your hair to hold you in place more securely and you hum in satisfaction. Your other hand is gripping the material of his shirt at his waist and you shuffle a little closer, all too eager to feel his body against yours.

You melt into each other as you kiss, hardly breaking apart for air as you suck in greedy, rushed breaths from your nose. You’re content to just stay here forever but the loud screech of the kettle startles you into breaking the kiss. You both chuckle, exchanging a quick peck before you pull away gently to turn off the stove.

Jimin is not far behind you, wrapping his arms securely around your middle once the stove is off and you’re sure you won’t burn down your apartment. You smile to yourself before turning in his arms and wrapping your own around his neck, reaching up to nose along his jaw. 

“Now where were we?” You smirk lightly against his skin when you feel him shiver beneath your hands. A rush of heat flashes through you as you think of all the ways you could have him now that he’s here, finally. 

Jimin seems to be thinking the same because the hands on your waist tighten and you hiss in pleasure. “I believe I was kissing you breathless.” It’s his turn to tease this time as he grazes down the length of your neck and you bite back a moan at the soft, almost ticklish feeling of his lips against your throat.

“Hmm, I might need you to show me again. I don’t think I was breathless enough.” The words are false of course, compounded by the fact that you are currently struggling to get enough air.

“As you wish, sweetheart.” And with that, Jimin is on you again. You sigh into his mouth, reveling in the plush feel of his lips. He swallows the sound, pressing you further against him and you practically turn to jelly in his arms. He kisses you with a passion you had only just begun to feel before you were briefly interrupted and you can feel yourself getting swept up in it. You wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jimin swipes his tongue along the seam of your lips in a silent question and you swear your knees buckle from underneath you. You can’t stop the moan that escapes, humming into his mouth as you open up for him. Things turn hot and heavy very quickly and you find yourself backed into your kitchen counter as Jimin positively ravages you. 

You pull back for a moment, panting and your stomach tightens as you catch a glimpse of him. Jimin looks just as wrecked as you feel, pupils blown wide in desire and chest heaving with the effort to breathe. His lips are a swollen, pretty pink mess and a desperate whine tears itself from your throat when you notice. 

Leaning his forehead against yours, Jimin closes his eyes and catches his breath. “Do you want this, sweetheart? Say the word and we can slow down. I won’t be upset.”

“It certainly doesn’t feel like you want to slow down,” you tease, rolling your hips into his where you can feel the evidence of his desire against your stomach. His answering groan has you grinning wickedly.

“Sweetheart,” he moans, panting into the skin of your shoulder as you build up a steady rhythm and you can feel him stiffen further at the stimulation. “Please, answer me.”

“Yes, Jimin, please.” You punctuate the request with a final roll of your hips, pulling his head away from your shoulder so you can look him in the eyes. “Make me yours.”

A beat. Then, Jimin lets out the most animalistic growl you’ve ever heard and your thighs clench pathetically as you feel your wetness dampen your underwear further.

“You are going to be the death of me.” Pulling you to him, he crouches slightly until his fingers are brushing the backs of your thighs. “Jump,” he grunts.

You’re hesitant but you do so anyway and he catches you, taking a moment to steady you both before busying himself with placing kisses along your jaw.

“Where are we doing this, sweetheart?” Jimin murmurs against your skin and you have to take a second to focus yourself, a haze beginning to cloud your mind.

“Second door on the left,” you manage to choke out, whining as you feel his tongue leave a wet trail along your collarbone. You hardly remember the walk to your room but you certainly feel when Jimin deposits you gently on the bed. Backing up toward the headboard, you eye him greedily as he tucks his shirt to raise it over his head. You feel your mouth run dry and you lick your lips in anticipation.

“Something the matter, sweetheart?” He’s teasing you as he crawls on the bed, stalking. 

“Not at all,” you return breezily. “Just wondering when you were gonna come over here and make me forget my name.”

“Oh, not to worry. You won’t be able to think of anything else but me.”

Lunging at you, Jimin connects your lips together once again and your hands wander over the exposed skin. You marvel at the toned muscles of his stomach, humming and running your nails lightly over them. He shudders over you, breaking the kiss to pant in your ear. You use his momentary distraction to flip you both over so you’re on top.

“My turn,” you whisper. In a surge of confidence, you grasp the ends of your shirt and practically rip it off you. Jimin stares, mouth agape, at the newly exposed skin. He seems to snap himself out of his trance because he dives in immediately, littering your chest with kisses and nips. Your hips buck against his as he moves to unclasp your bra, cupping the flesh once he’s removed the offending garment. 

“Beautiful,” he murmurs, awed. “I could look at you forever.” 

Your ears burn hotly but you try to hide your embarrassment. “You just gonna look?” 

Jimin fixes you with a look. “I plan to do a lot more than just look, sweetheart. But I am patient. Something you should learn.”

“I’ve missed you for weeks now,” you gasp as he pinches one stiff peak as punishment for your mouthing off. “So forgive me if I seem a little eager to get to it.”

“There’s nothing to forgive.” He presses a kiss over your heart and if you weren’t already a puddle on the floor you would’ve melted. Somehow the words seem to refer to more than just your impatience.

You choke on a moan when Jimin pulls a nipple into his mouth, fingers tweaking the neglected one. The stimulation has you arching into his mouth and you grind down onto his lap, reveling in the feel of him, hard and thick, under you. You shiver at the thought of him inside you.

Jimin switches then, his other hand sliding down your back to aid your hips in their movement against his. You’re sure you’ve soaked through your underwear at this point, fabric slippery as you move. Finally satisfied, Jimin pulls back, admiring the wet, flushed mess he’s made of your chest, and ventures lower. Kissing down your sternum, he gently guides you down onto your pillows. You don’t even fight him, too excited to slow him down for even a second.

“Won’t be needing these, now will you?” He tugs at the waistband of your jeans and you scramble to undo them, lifting your hips as you help Jimin tug them down and off your legs. You’re left in your underwear as your only defense against his gaze and you shyly close your legs. Jimin clicks his tongue in disapproval and places a hand on both knees. “No hiding, sweetheart.”

He makes quick work of your underwear until he’s staring at your glistening folds with reverence. You mewl as he swipes a finger down your slit, collecting the growing wetness. Jimin circles your clit and you groan, back arching off the bed as you seek more friction.

“Jimin, please,” you gasp. “Want your fingers.”

“Oh, sweetheart. Since you asked so nicely…” Jimin grins deviously before slipping his fingers down to your fluttering hole. Sinking one finger in, he allows you to adjust before thrusting shallowly. He adds another finger after a minute and curls them upward, massaging the soft spot with purpose. 

“Jimin, ah, please!”

“Patience, my dear,” he chuckles. “I’ll give you what you want soon.”

You want to yell at him to get on with it but then he sinks a third finger in and the stretch burns so deliciously that you’re rendered speechless. The sound that reverberates around the room is obscene, filthy, but you can’t feel embarrassed as the fire in your stomach burns bright with each curl of Jimin’s fingers. He dips down to swallow your whines and cries in a searing kiss and you wrap your arms around him to crush him to you, eager to feel him.

“Now, Jimin, now. I’m ready.”

“Okay, sweetheart.” Kissing your forehead, he pulls his fingers out of you gingerly before moving to remove his own pants and underwear. You watch as he revels each inch of perfect skin, mouth practically salivating as he removes the final layer and bares himself to you. He’s not ridiculously long but he’s thick and you can’t wait to feel him inside you.

You spread your legs in an open invitation but Jimin shakes his head with a smile before settling on the bed next to you. You’re confused until he pats his lap, beckoning you over. You move quicker than you ever thought you could and straddle him.

“Want to watch you. Use me as you need to. I’m yours.” He looks deeply into your eyes when he says this and you shiver at the conviction in his voice. You grab him by the base, making him hiss, and line him up with your entrance. 

“And I’m yours,” you sigh, sinking down fully onto his swollen length. The stretch burns wonderfully and you can’t help the drawn-out whine that rips itself from your throat. Jimin doesn’t seem to be faring much better.

“Oh, sweetheart. You feel so good.” He tips his head back, eyes glazed and unfocused. You’re not faring much better but you’re determined to give him the ride of his life.

Bracing yourself on his shoulders, you push yourself up and you can’t stop the cheshire grin from curving your lips when he moans softly. His hands grip your waist tightly as you begin to build up a rhythm, guiding your hips as best he can. 

“S-So good, Jimin. So big.” And you’re not just stroking his ego. The stretch has you groaning into his neck as you swivel your hips in a torturing motion. The hand on your hip tightens and keeps you moving steadily, no matter how much you wanna speed up.

“What did I say about patience, baby?” He clicks his tongue playfully and you want to wipe the smirk off his face. Purposefully, you slow down your hips even more and clench tightly, dragging yourself up and down. Jimin chokes on air as you do so.

“What was that?” You flutter your eyelashes prettily at him and he growls.

“Don’t test me, sweetheart.”

A twinge of arousal flashes through you at the thinly veiled threat and you wonder just how dangerous Jimin can get. But, you suppose, you can save that for another time. Sufficiently placated, you resume your pace, taking care to kiss and bite at his neck, his jaw—whatever you can reach. His breath stutters as you continue your ministrations and you take pride in yourself for making him react so strongly. 

Eventually your thighs start to feel tired and the fire in your core, while burning pleasantly, has dulled to a frustratingly low simmer. You whine into Jimin’s neck, begging him to let you go faster.

“Please, Jimin. I wanna cum.”

“Go ahead, sweetheart,” he acquiesces. “I wanna see you fall apart on my cock.”

His words spur you on and you begin a desperate pace, soreness long forgotten. The blunt tip of his dick nudges against the deepest part of you and you gasp as if you’ve been shocked. The pleasure begins mounting and your hips piston faster of their own accord. You feel his pelvis bump against your bundle of nerves with each drag of your hips, sending ripples of liquid heat traveling through your body.

You lean down to kiss Jimin but you can do little more than pant into his mouth, especially as he begins to buck up into you and meet your hips with every downward stroke. “H-ah, Jimin, close.”

“Atta girl, sweetheart. You’re so beautiful.” The way he whispers into your hair, as if you’re something precious, something to be treasured, sends you into another frenzy and you let out an answering cry. “Come on, cream my cock, baby. It’s all yours.”

That in combination with a punctuated thrust has you hurtling so fast into your orgasm that you’re blindsided, mouth opening in a silent scream as the pleasure overtakes you. You hear Jimin grunt as your walls squeeze him for all he’s worth and you’re suddenly desperate to make him feel just as good.

“Y-You too, baby,” you manage to choke out. “Wanna feel you.”

Jimin groans, clutching you tighter to him. “Yeah? Sweetheart wants my cum?” You nod and that’s all he needs to buck up into you mercilessly. He lasts one stroke, then two, before he’s moaning out loud, pulling you in for a desperate kiss as he releases inside you. You swivel your hips for as long as you can stand it until the oversensitivity becomes too much and you have to stop. 

You both stay there for a moment, breathing in each other as you come down from your highs. Looking shyly into his eyes, you find him looking at you with that same adoring stare and your heart throbs in response. You’re sure you look just as smitten.

“Hi,” you whisper. 

Jimin smiles and you swear you’ve never seen anything more beautiful. “Hi.”

“We’re a little sticky.” You grimace as you shift slightly, feeling the combination of your fluids leaking from inside you and onto his skin. Not to mention the thin layer of sweat that’s left on your skin.

“That we are.” He laughs goodnaturedly, fingers trailing a soothing path down the length of your back and sending pleasant tingles down your spine. “Shall we clean up?”

“Yes, please.” You wrinkle your nose at him and he laughs, kissing it lightly as he shifts. Jimin removes you from his lap so tenderly you blush under the attention despite your previous activities. 

Cleaning up turns into a full-blown shower, the two of you crammed into your small tub and taking turns under the spray as you lather each other’s bodies with soap. It’s comfortable, you realize—almost too comfortable—but you let yourself enjoy it, relishing in the feeling of wanting and being wanted in return.

Once you are clean and dressed in a thin nightgown and some sweats that you managed to find for Jimin, the two of you make quick work of changing the sheets and soon find yourself curled up around each other in a comfortable silence. You’re lying across his chest, hand clutched in his while his other arm is wrapped securely around your shoulders, holding you to him. Your thoughts wander to the Eurail trip—the trip that changed everything. You think about what would have happened if you hadn’t hadn’t been late and reached out for his hand that first day, if you hadn’t missed the train in that small-town station. You remember what Jimin had said about wanting, about finding his soul. Everything rushes back to you all at once and you can’t help the swell of emotion that rises within you.

“Jimin, I…” you begin, but you have no idea where to start. Everything feels so intense right now, so overwhelming, but Jimin seems to know exactly what you’re trying to say. 

“I know.” He says it so calmly, like he’s had time to think about this, about you, and you realize he probably has. Just as you did. You smile softly, looking deeply into his eyes as you move to cup his cheek.

“I’m sorry it took so long for my soul to recognize yours.” 

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.” Jimin cradles your face, gazing at you fondly and you have trouble remembering how to breathe. “I found you, and I’m never letting you go again.”

© exoticarmyofcrowns 2020

[milkygcf]

Hi i'd luv 2 req. A bully jungkook x reader e2l fic pls 🥺 5k~ tysm!

//credits go to @jjoon for the gif!//

Pairing | jjk x reader

Genre | e2l, bully!jungkook, college au

Warnings | mild cursing

Summary | ❝ Hi i'd luv 2 req. A bully jungkook x reader e2l fic pls 🥺 5k~ tysm!❞

Word Count | 5.4k

Author’s Note | hi anon! i’m sorry this took so long to write ... this really inspired me to write a full fic! i had to cramp in as much as i could and hopefully it goes to your liking ❤ thank you for your request!  ________________________________________________________________

When you hoped for the best college experience, you didn’t mean to bring Jeon Jeongguk along with you. As far as you knew, he had other plans for a different school - so why did you end up spending a year and a half of college facing the worst each day?

It started when you accidentally spilt his juice all over his study notes when a friend of yours jokingly pushed you. From that very day on, he’s been firing you up almost every day of seeing you within his sight. Making you seethe when he steps into your vision. Despite apologizing and offering to rewrite his notes for him, he still made it his mission to make college incredibly agonizing for you.

For example, all the times he’s made you feel like pure, utter shit. 

Unlike what his looks demonstrated, Jeon Jeongguk was an absolute bully. You have all the evidence to back this up. 

And that so happens to be at this very second as he scribbles all over your essays, vandalizing them with random characters from the games he spends all night playing. “Stop that-!” You cry out, watching your clean work melt into a behemoth of a mess before you. 

“Stop? Your notebook’s boring - I’m just adding more life to it!”

The look on his face symbolizes the devil incarnate himself. Jeongguk was devilishly handsome, except for the fact that he was the bane of your existence. 

Handsome?

God forbid he ever finds out you think of him like that.

“No,” You let out an exasperated huff, “You’re just earning me a bad reputation! Can’t you just fuck off?” Frankly, you’re just wasting precious time and energy, because no matter how many times you urge him to piss off, he wouldn’t budge. He’d keep on being a complete brat.

Nothing was on your side when it came to Jeongguk - not even the gods themselves.

Truly, you deem yourself as the most patient person to ever walk this earth. You say this out of the experience. But when Jeongguk steps into the picture? You want to give him a good kick to the balls because he was simply so aggravating.  

Your friends know well of this yet they look at the situation in another light. A light which leaves you effectively deceived. 

As you stomp towards your local buddies, you could hear the faint “Ah, here we go again,” leaving Seokjin’s lips as they all brace themselves for your routined outburst. It’d be surprising if you didn’t do this on the daily.

“I can’t believe him!” Your voice booms, agonized and worn out as you tumble onto an empty seat, letting yourself sink into the warmth of your arms. Attention attracts itself to you, but you couldn’t bother. Humiliation has nothing on the daily hardships you face - literally - every day. 

“What did he do this time?” Jimin and Seokjin mutter in unison, watching you practically deflate in front of them. Honestly, what didn’t he do? Nowadays, whenever he even breaths your way, you deem it a huge inconvenience. Unfortunate. 

How exactly is this unfortunate? You happened to be best friends with someone who’s very fond of your arch-nemesis, and that is Park Jimin. It’s either because he’s a libra or the heathen hypnotized him into blooming a friendship together. Countless times the beam of smiles tried his best to convince you that Jeon was an angel at heart.

You beg to differ. 

With a distraught face, you look up at both of them. “He scribbled all over my essay - that little twerp is going to ruin me.” Words of truth. It’s not that deep - it isn’t. You offered to rewrite his notes, he was the one who decided to be all salty about the matter. Salty enough to make your life a living hell, that is. 

“Wouldn’t you consider the fact that maybe his intentions aren’t to just be a bitch to you?” Jimin chirps in, wincing.

“You’re kidding. How many times do we have to go through this?”

“As many times as we need to,” Seokjin intervenes, letting out a fatigued sigh. To put it simply, he has way too many other things to be focused on right now besides your incessant whining. He loves you dearly, but having to listen to you ramble on and on about your rivalry with Jeon drains him to the last drop. “Haven’t you thought about clearing things with him? Perhaps it’s all a misunderstanding.”

“Over my dead body! He’s the one who started it, I already did my part of the job.”

If there was one word to describe you, it would be dense. This was on him, even if it bothered you to ends. Seokjin and Jimin knew this very well - they also knew that they were wasting their breaths with you, but it was worth a shot either way. 

And so it was left at that. 

As winter break approaches, you find yourself growing ecstatic as each day passes. Once you finally catch yourself a break, you’d be able to scatter away from the plight that is Jeon Jeongguk. Likewise, the man himself. You’re pretty sure he finds your mere presence a disgrace by the way there’s always a scowl tugging at his lips, or perhaps the devilish tricks he pulls on you until you can no longer take it and scurry off.

Jimin, much to his pleasure, compelled you into signing up to help with the school dance alongside him. Eventually, you caved in, albeit protesting that you’d rather use your free time binging whatever show Netflix recommended you. No one can bypass Jimin’s charms and the way his lips turn into a pout as he pleads to you. 

And, well, perhaps you did need to be more productive.

So in reality, your best bud was doing you a favour. 

How hard could it be anyway? All you had to do was decorate and help plan the catering, maybe throw in a few song suggestions. If possible, even cop yourself a date - you’d hate to weigh down Seokjin and Jimin just because you were looking sulky in a corner with your only friend being a cup of cranberry punch. 

“You’re not going to bail on me last second, are you?” The brunet queries, looking at you cautiously with his eyes twinkling. Despite his teasing and constant pulling to get you to do things with him, you know he’d never force you into something displeasing. 

You give him a look. “Gosh, what do you take me for? I promised you, didn’t I? You just have to make sure you keep your side of the deal.” A grin blooms onto his features. Right - he promised you a meal at your favourite diner for accompanying him. That way, he knew you’d accept for sure. 

The hall is crowded with students, bustling with chatter as they discuss their excitement for the dance. You have to admit, it was an event to look forward to. To catch your breath and enjoy a moment of peace in a place that you can call a second home. And to top it off, it’s with the people you see every day who, just like you, are there to study for a future. 

Understandably, you have no idea who half of the student body was, but it still felt like family. 

Jimin instantly finds himself one of the coordinators and advises them about your presence whilst you fumble behind him rather nervously. “What exactly do we have to do?” You mumble to him, taking a good look around. The place seems way too dull when it’s not enriched with DIY banners and colourful lights adorning every nook and cranny of the room. 

“Our duty for today is decorating. The theme’s pretty sparkly this year.”

“Isn’t it always like that?”

A voice is quick to interrupt your conversation, making you practically dart around to see the source of it. And it’s no surprise when you come face to chest - curse his height - with the very being you’ve grown to dislike over the months. He was here, in the hall, helping. 

Just when you thought you’d be able to hide from Jeongguk, he proves you wrong. Like a predator hunting its prey. 

“Gguk!” Jimin exclaims mirthfully, wrapping an arm around your sworn enemy. You really can’t help but worry for him. Ah, it is what it is. “I didn’t think you’d be joining this year.” 

“You know I’d never miss an opportunity to help around. But,” he pauses, averting his gaze to you with a quirk of an eyebrow. “It’s a surprise you brought Y/N along.”

“I’m sorry?” You gasp rather too dramatically, earning the attention of those around you. Jimin bursts into laughter, shaking his head at your antics. This is betrayal at its finest - laughing at your misery, you might as well drop him this very second.

“Apology accepted.”

That fuels you even more. Your blood boils under the layers of your skin. God, couldn’t he get any less arrogant? “I can’t stand you,” you breathe out, scoffing. “Is there a rule that I can’t give a helping hand by any chance?”

Jimin watches all of this unfurl. If anything’s worth pure entertainment, it was the two of you. “Not if you run around with a stick up your ass,” Jeongguk replies with a measly roll of the eyes, “This won’t be any fun with you here.”

“Alright you two, cut it out.” 

In all honesty, you doubt how fun that'll be. With him around, no one knows about the perils he could throw at you to prove his disdain. Your life could be in danger as you speak. What if you were walking around and he stuck his foot out for you?

Jeongguk clicks his tongue. “See you around Park - you should hop over to the sound room later. We could use your help.” 

And that’s another encounter with Jeon Jeongguk for the day, much to your annoyance. You could see the way the brunet turns to look at you with a soft smile on his face, a small, reassuring hand on your shoulder. “Lighten up, it won’t be that bad.”

“My ass.”

“Y/N!” 

---

Truthfully speaking, it isn’t all that bad. You’ve grown to interact more with everyone else - surprisingly. Not only that, but you were given the blissful pleasure to befriend what seems to be God’s favourite specimen, Kim Taehyung.  

If you didn’t know any better, you’d assume he was God himself.

Amid all these students, there’s Taehyung who you secretly claim as the light of your life. You’d be surprised if someone didn’t know him or of his presence in the hall, he truly stuck out brighter than all the sparkling decor being hung around the walls and on stage.

“Y/N-! Catch!” 

If you weren’t quick enough, you would’ve been hit with a small pack of glitters straight to the head. Even worse, they could’ve opened and left you in a glittery mess. Laughter bubbles out of the man’s lips - music to your ears. You adore the way his locks bounce with each move he makes. 

“That was pretty hazardous - I’m sorry, I’ll make sure to hand them over to you more politely next time.”

“I caught them, didn’t I?” You smile, letting the item dangle lightly from the tips of your fingers. Taehyung continues to beam, his pearly whites put all on show. You’re pretty sure you’ve never seen anything as beautiful as the man before you. Oh, and not to mention his voice. That golden bundle of harmony. 

“Surprisingly,” Jeongguk butts in, snickering. And here it is again - like a comedic show, ready to make you the laughing stock. “Would’ve been hilarious to see you covered in pink glitters.”

“Ggukkie!”

Ggukie? If it wasn’t for the respect you hold for other people’s comfortableness, you would’ve bent over and hurled. It would’ve been a cute nickname if it wasn’t directed at the fiend. But it’s fine, you suppose - Taehyung has an endearing way of lacing nicknames.

He’s quick to ruffle the latter’s hair, making shy giggles tumble out of Jeongguk’s mouth. You can only stand and watch, squinting rather annoyingly at him. He was such a joy kill. 

“I need your help with the soundbar,” Jeongguk explains nicely. His tone is gentle and he uses his hands to explain whatever was wrong, much unlike how he interacts with you. It’s in these moments you wonder why he treats you so differently when it was a small inconvenience you’d pulled on him months ago. 

“No can do,” the elder tells him, scratching the back of his head. “I have to help Namjoon with the tickets. But I’m sure Y/N can help - didn’t you say you were good with tech?” 

Oh. 

Oh. 

In another life, in the same position you are in now, you would’ve declined and scurried off to avoid him. But, if you think about it, this could be the perfect opportunity to flaunt your knowledge and skill. If he gets to do it, then so can you. 

It’s only fair, no?

You quirk an eyebrow towards the duo. This was your time to shine. “I’m sure he won’t need my help,” you taunt, “Jeonggukie can do everything, can’t he?” 

Silence. He’s like a deer caught in headlights, with the way his eyes widen and his mouth becomes agape. You managed to pull a stunt on him, showing him victory and deeming yourself superior. Kim gives you a peculiar look before offering you a smile. “You’re right - Gguk’s incredibly talented.”

That wasn’t really what you were hoping for. You admit it hurt your pride a little, but there’s no way you were going to put it out on show. Jeongguk can kiss your ass. 

“Uh, whatever. Follow me, I can’t wrap my head around what’s wrong with it.”

You were quite ready to start calling him petty, but as you slowly take in his response, you’re left perplexed. 

Perhaps you’re taking it too far - this is only for a school dance after all. Although you can’t help but stand and stare at him for actually accepting your offer to help. “Hello? Are you going to just stand there? We have other things to do - hurry up.” Curse you Jeon Jeongguk.

“See you later Y/N!”

The chance of copping yourself a hot date to the dance, slowly streaming out of your grasp. 

As you bid your farewell to Taehyung, you let yourself be whisked away by a rather grumpy Jeongguk, who stomps his approach to the sound room. It’s quiet - save for the weight of his rather chunky shoes - and if you may say so yourself, awkward. But nevermind that, you were assigned something to fix. 

He takes you up a flight of stairs - much to your dismay, you weren’t fond of the exercise - and into a tiny, cramped room just on the opposite of the school’s stage. You could see everyone clearly from here - ants scurrying around to get their work done. 

Jeongguk shuffles around behind you - you could feel his build bumping into yours here and there. “Okay, do you know what to do?” 

“Huh?” 

“I said, do you know what to do? Or were you just talking out of your ass?”

God, you can’t stand him. “Can you stop being such a bitch for once? Yes, just give me a few minutes and it’ll be ready.” A huff follows your line of conversation as you squat down to handle the component. He should be grateful you’re sacrificing your sanity to be with him right now. “What exactly is the issue here?” 

There’s silence until your ears prick at the loud sigh that tumbles out of his lips. “Didn’t you hear what I told Tae? The sound keeps cutting.” You hum. 

Your fingers lace around its wires, untangling the unattractive mess they’re in and inspecting whatever could be the problem. Unlike you, Jeon stands as far away as possible, offering you all the space you could need. His eyes watch you carefully, dancing onto every move you make. It’s peaceful, the only sound reverberating through the room being your breaths and the light clinks of the soundbar wires. 

Your fingers start pulling each cable off one by one, setting them aside neatly and letting out a small sigh. Everything was in order, except for the crooked pins inside one of the cables that directly connects to the speaker. You turn to Jeongguk with a raised eyebrow.

“Did you plug these in? You bent the pins.” 

He purses his lips, his hand flying up to scratch the back of his neck. “Guess I was in a hurry - can you fix them?” As he speaks softly, almost shyly, you swear you could see a hint of pink tinting his cheeks.

That’s cute.

“Hand me your credit card.”

“My what?”

“Your credit card - hand it over.” His face displayed pure horror. It’s not like you were going to run off with it - he wanted the soundbar fixed, didn’t he? You extend an arm out towards him, an eyebrow quirked at his hesitation. 

“It’s fine,” an eye roll follows because he genuinely looks like he’s waiting for dinosaurs to resurrect. “I just need it to straighten the pins, yeah? Your card’s going to be back in your wallet before you know it.”

He’s looking at you with worry laced in his features until he’s stuffing his hands in those baggy pants of his and shuffling out his wallet. “You better give it back in one piece.” 

What did he think you were - a heathen? Did he not know just how valuable credit cards were in today’s life? “Whatever,” you huff, fingers diligently wrapping around the piece and instantly starting to work your magic.  

It takes you a few minutes of focus and caution, aligning the component back to its original shape. While you do so, Jeongguk observes cautiously. His eyes fawn over the way you stick your tongue out in concentration or the way you just engulf yourself in your own little world. Jeongguk thinks your hair colour compliments your skin.

You look pretty when you’re not throwing profanities at him. 

It’s the daily entertainment he looks forward to every day. Not a moment goes by that Jeongguk doesn’t think about how to make you boil with fury in a matter of five minutes. Yet despite the delight of it all, he figures it’s about time he gives you a break.  

Maybe a five-minute break - he misses the constant scowl etched onto your features whenever you catch sight of him.

"All done!" You beam, lips stretched wide as your hands perform the last trick. "Put a song on, bunny boy, see if it works."

Jeongguk stutters at the nickname. You, however, didn't realize it rolled down your tongue until it was too late. 

He brushes it off and starts to scrolls through what seemed to be a multitude of playlists on his phone. You eagerly await the melody to boom quietly through the soundbar. However, he seems to be hesitant on what to choose and frankly, he was taking too long.

So you swipe his phone out of his grasp, leaving him clutching his credit card, putting his songs on shuffle. You give yourself the pleasure of coursing through his music taste - it wasn’t that bad. Diverse, to put it simply. 

Kind of like yours. 

“You listen to them too?” There’s an enthusiastic tone to your voice, eyes gleaming over the discography of a group you’ve grown to admire ever so much. They were the good fortune in your life - what was keeping you moving forward. Listening to their music gave you a sense of bliss. 

Jeongguk peeks over your shoulder, his interest piqued as to why you’re so delighted over his music taste. “Hm?” He mumbles to himself, “You follow them?”

“Are you kidding,” you express matter-of-factly, “I don’t just listen to them! They are my heart and soul Jeon. I love them more than taco Tuesday.” 

The last comment sends him hollering, catching you off-guard. You’ve never, in your time spent around him, heard him laugh so heartily before. If you must admit, it sounds melodious. Like the singing of birds in the early morning.

“Taco Tuesday - god, you’re something.”

Heat trickles up your neck to the ends of your ears, leaving you red in front of him.

“Should I take that as a compliment?” A snicker follows. “Well, it’s open for interpretation. Did you go to their last showcase?” You notice the way interest bubbles in the tone of his voice and the way his eyes glimmer with a newfound shine that you can’t quite decipher.

“Hell yeah, I did! It has to be one of their best one yet - they’re hitting it big this time!” 

The room reverberates with joyous laughter, drowning out the low drum of the music playing in the background. It feels rather cumbersome, how one minute you’re at each other’s throats and the other your boisterous laughter mixes. 

Maybe Jeongguk isn’t that bad.   

However, it’s when the laughter dies down that the tension slowly rises. It isn’t thick - nor is it thin, but it’s there. It weighs on your shoulders and watches the inelegance crawl towards you. Jeongguk clears his throat and you find him rubbing the nape of his neck.

“Yeah, uh, I think you should be getting back down there.”

You shake your head heartily, your feet shuffling underneath you. “Could’ve sent a thank you my way you know.” The way it tumbles down your tongue makes it seem like you’re joking. His eyes wander onto you and there’s coral painting his skin again - he looks like a child. With the way his eyes go wide and he starts pursing his lips whenever he finds himself in situations as such. 

“Right - yeah. Thanks, Y/N.”

That’s where another part of your constant feud ends. 

Would you even call that interaction a feud? Technically, you weren’t exactly at each other’s throats this time, despite all you did was fix up the soundbar. It was rather nice. You think a smile on Jeongguk’s handsome features is ravishing - god forbid he ever finds out of the compliment.   

It’s childish. It’s like throwing buckets of water off a sinking ship - useless. For someone attending college, both of you lack the maturity for it. 

Okay, maybe he’s not the only one taking things out of proportion - you can be quite the bitch sometimes. 

New revelation - for the last term, you’ll just drop it. Just like that. Let it unravel however it wishes. 

Yet, it’s quite hilarious how all this took you was a heartfelt moment with the guy.

--- 

It takes you patience, teamwork and hours upon hours of choosing through various types of decorations and goods for the dance. Now that everything is ready - and just in time, if you may add - the event was to be held early in the evening.

Whilst everyone was simply ecstatic for the event, you were pissing yourself. Why exactly is a mystery - your nerves were slowly bursting one by one and you were growing anxious. You had no reason to. 

Seokjin is currently rambling about how elegant his suit was going to look. It makes you admire how he considers a minimal event as something grand - another quality you can’t help but adore about him. Seokjin always makes himself stand out in the best ways. 

Jimin sits by his side pecking at the loose threads of his jumper, eyeing someone which, according to his line of sight, was about a few meters behind you. At his silence, both you and Seokjin quirk an eyebrow.

“Goodness!” Seokjin squawks, sending a light slap to the youth’s shoulder. “All you have to do is ask him to go with you, you raging homosexual!” 

Ah. 

Jimin has had the fattest crush on one of the philosophy guys. He describes him to have the sexiest brain to ever walk the grounds of earth. Frankly, he wasn’t exactly wrong. Kim Namjoon walked the college halls with people behind him practically foaming at the mouth. He, however, didn’t exactly take notice of this. 

The youth’s gawking at the elder amongst you, giving him that specific look at me, now look at him look. “No way. I’m too fond of the pride harboured within me to let it be crushed by someone so unbelievably hot.” 

“Funny, considering you’re ranked one of the best looking to roam this goddamned building,” you comment, rolling your eyes. “Jimin, I bet you the moment you walk into his vision he will be swooning. He can’t say no to you.”

“You think so?”

“With a juicy ass like yours, no, he wouldn’t be able to resist.” 

You feel something shuffle beside you, which you brush off as Seokjin’s feet - it’s not the first time he’d stretch his legs out beside you, just to annoy you. It’s until Jimin’s doubling over with laughter at the sound of someone’s voice that you finally pay mind to. 

Jeongguk chuckles. “Really? I didn’t take you for an ass person, Y/N.” That’s exactly why your ever so lovely best friend - since high school, may you add - was tearing up. Seokjin tries his best to keep his laughter at bay, knowing well you’ll give them hell after this. 

You’re abashed wholly as red inherits your skin from neck to ears. Jeongguk’s very existence was made to shame you - catch you at the most vulnerable moments and have you burden them for as long as you breathe. 

“Where did you come from?”

“From the cafeteria. I came to ask you something.” 

After this presumptuous interaction, you are confident that he may have hit his head this morning. This was more than peculiar, and frankly, it left you perplexed as ever. “Okay, go ahead, shoot.” Interest piques and you notice the way he hesitates before shooting a quick look towards Jimin who grins ever so evilly. 

“Be my date for tonight.” 

That bastard. 

“What?”

“Hello? Can’t you hear? I told you to be my date for tonight.” He says it so straight-forwardly it almost has you toppling over your seat. His face harbours a look that you can’t quite fathom and it irks you. What was he plotting? 

“There’s definitely a catch to this.” Seokjin and Jimin observe quietly, the elder sending the youth a few questionable glares here and there. It seems as if Jimin was the one behind this all - which, if he was, wouldn’t leave you surprised at all. 

What a libra.

Jeongguk shakes his head - you grow soft at the way his locks bob as he does so. “I promise there’s no catch - I just want a date for the dance. That’s all.” It leaves you with a frown hanging on your lips. All he needed was someone to hang by his side.

“And from all the chicks around you ask me?”

There’s silence then - he doesn’t respond, only purses his lips and fiddles with his fingers. He avoids eye contact. You sigh. “Sure - yeah, sure, whatever. I’ll be your date, Jeon.”

“Score!” 

You watch as both Jimin and your new dance date high five before you. The pits of your stomach continue to bubble with anxiety and soon enough you might even think this might be a bet. 

Jeongguk went from provoking you to asking you to be his date.

Seokjin gives you a rather sceptical look, tapping at your hand lightly. “What was that supposed to be?” He asks you, gaze wandering about the two snickering to themselves. You peek at Jeongguk and he seems to be pretty content. You still can’t comprehend just what’s going on in his head, but you conclude that it’s no good. 

“I don’t know, but I hope he doesn’t pull any shit and ruin a good night.”

---

To say you’re beyond nervous is an understanding. 

The both of you agreed to meet at the school gates, and as you step out of the cab you conveniently managed to catch, the situation dawns on you greatly. What happened to being sworn enemies after an unintentional spill?

If you were to look back at the time you’ve spent planning the occasion, you’d say something changed. He doesn’t make your blood boil as much - he presents you that charming smile more often. Not to mention how soft and kind it’d become in contrast to the many devilish grins and disdainful scowls he’d sent your way before. 

You can’t tell if it’s progress or not. 

The building looks rather magical - students loiter around the main entrance with big grins decorating their faces. Their well-prepared looks shimmer under the dim lights radiating from inside the school. 

“Y/N!” Your body instantly freezes at the sound of his voice. You’ve grown used to it over time, but in this specific condition, it shakes you to the core. “Over here!”

Feet trepidatiously coursing over to him, you let your fingers fiddle with your fit. You look presentable to say the least - perhaps not as extravagant as the other people who’ve probably spent half their paycheck on something to wear. Decent, as you would put it. 

“You better not pull anything on me, Jeon,” 

“Why would I?”

Well, why would he? Makes you debate. The behemoth of worries and what-ifs subsides slowly but surely because Jeongguk sounds so sincere. Not to mention the way he’s looking at you right now - it makes you shrink, but in a positive way. He has the faintest of smiles plastered on his lips. 

You don’t know how to feel whatsoever. 

“Listen,” you tell him softly, looking at the ground as if it was the most interesting piece of art. “If… If this is all a joke or a dumb bet with Jimin, cut it out. You’re acting weird.” As a result, you can almost detect the frown drowning his smile as you speak. 

Jeongguk reaches out to hold your hands. If he hadn’t done that, you’re pretty sure you would’ve ruined your somewhat prized possession. His touch is warm - it sends electricity coursing through your veins and leaves you stunned. Your head’s quick to shoot up at him. 

“I promise that it’s nothing like that. Can’t I take the girl I’ve had this like, huge crush on to a dance?”

If pigs could fly they’d be more believable than this very moment. What was he saying? Is he even sure he’s talking to the right person?

“You’re kidding?” You say almost breathlessly. You’re pretty sure your eyes are wider than what’s physically possible, and your mouth’s hanging open. Nothing could convince you just how true this was. “Shut up - crush? You’ve been nagging me since I fucked your notes up. How could you possibly have a crush on someone you clearly dislike?” 

His facial expression becomes even more unfathomable. Jeongguk shakes his head gently, “I was just teasing! It’s a habit - you’re fun to mess with, much less be around. Was I that bad?” 

Oh? 

This was like entering a whole new universe. Was that a good way to even describe the whirlwind of emotions washing over you right now? Never had you even considered that, because why would Jeon Jeongguk, quite possibly one of the most alluring men to ever walk this earth, find entertainment in you? Much less harbour a liking. 

You punch his shoulder jokingly. 

“God - you bastard! For how long has this been going on?”

There’s a sheepish grin on his face - he’s rubbing the nape of his neck again, it’s endearing. “You remember that time you fixed the soundbar? Yeah, by that time, I was a goner - I think?” His words are all fumbling together. He was growing shy by the way red bloomed onto his cheeks. “Then… Then we kind of vibed during the whole planning thing. Jimin was kind of sceptical, so he uh, he confronted me about it.” 

Ah, so Jimin was part of all this. 

“Uh, I hoped this would’ve gone in a more, uh, romantic way? Maybe while we were dancing. I heard you put some pretty sappy songs in there.”

Seeing this new side of him hit you like that time Seokjin threw your school bag and earned you a nasty bruise on your nose. It’s fresh, better than the usual cocky talk he gives you.

Perhaps by time, it’ll grow on you. 

“When I say you’re really something, I never had in mind this side of you.” You sigh gently, letting a miniature of a smile wash over your lips. This is nice. It’s calming. “Now that I have clarification, you’re not so bad yourself, Jeon.” 

“And if you let me, I can continue to prove that on the dance floor.”

[kkulmoon]

SUGAR & SALT |”In the winter things brew”(1)

— pairings: a friend of a friend/ rich boy!kim taehyung x baker!reader (f) + park jimin x named OC & kim seokjin x named OC

(appearances by other idols, to be announced when appropriate)

— genre: angst (?), romance, smut (later chapters), slow burn, fluff (occasional)

— word count : 5,197 words

— warnings/content: enemies to lovers (?), slice of life, unrequited love, discrimination (later on), religion (writing about very lightly, so some may take offence), countryside-ish au,

— synopsis: You're a small town baker, whose business is on the line following questionable decisions made by your town's political board. You decide to take action in order to salvage your reputation as the town's favourite baker. 

What you didn't expect was to fight for your precious secular life that keeps being invaded by the best friend of the owner of your rivalling bakery, Taehyung. He also happens to be the one in charge of your lack sugar, due to a minor (depending on the point of view) mistake, though he's known as quite the conscientious count.

You're a baker.

A bad one, it seems. Even with Taehyung, Jimin, Seokjin and Ada, the finest products and tools at your disposal, you seem to cook up a disappointing dish. So whose fault is it really?

☁︎ next chapter ☁︎

☁︎ masterlist ☁︎

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You and your roommate, Ada, just arrived at the ski resort. Scraping sounds resound as you drag your luggages and clump them by your respective beds. It's now officially year seven of "Vacation for those with low earning reports", which meant visiting your local (almost) ski resort in Punniton for the seventh year in a row. The first one happened back in your first year of high school after you wanted to feel independent which lead you to meet your best friend, Ada, and planning what turned out to be the most unplanned trip of your life but you still made it. You managed to go and come back and that's what counted.

"Soooo I want to go and check the slopes but I know how you much you like your afternoon nap, so I'll leave you to it." Ada says riffling through her bag for her skiing pants.

You just hum in response, already liking the firmness of the mattress. Though it has been seven years in a row, going to the same resort every winter break, you still adopted your same mundane routine. You change into a cosy fit, and make your way to the lobby to take a look at the restaurant. While you did like skiing, you particularly liked food, so to you, bad food meant a bad vacation. You make a quick beeline for the pastry section and let your eyes get inspired by the plethora of new-age and classic pastries. One of the other reasons you visited the resort each year was to scout any new pastries that you could debut back at home, in the bakery. Punniton's ski resort was known for providing a variety of pastries for its international guests.

So yes, while you did go for skiing the first two years, the remaining five where simply to spark your creative juices in the kitchen, but that's something only you needed to know. Looking at the display had your mouth watering like a Pavlovian dog. One piece before your nap wouldn't hurt, right?

"Could I have a-" you say.

"Could I have a-" another voice echos beside you.

You turn to your side.

"Oh!" the more than familiar male exclaims.

"Woahhhh, Jimin?! like for real, THE Park Jimin!" You lunge at him, wrapping your arms around him.

You feel the vibrations from his chest as his laugh fills your ears. You take a step back, making a thorough examination of your more than dazzling former high school dance partner. You're happy to see that not much has changed, at least not on the outside but he seems to carry an even brighter aura around him.

"Hmmm yeah, it's just me," he says sporting his smug face, one that has had you cheesing ever since you met him for the first time in tenth grade.

His eyes soften and performer Jimin takes the backseat as he asks, "How have you been? It's been a hot minute."

You think back to your high school days and remember Park Jimin before he became Park Jimin. He would squeeze in dance practice before classes started. His weekends were spend in one room, the kind with mirrors and his eyes where always set, burning with passion to make it.  With your unassuming character you genuinely thought that someone so ambitious would end up corrupted. You couldn't have been more wrong. Jimin had made it, he was standing right in front of you and it felt like you just left dance practice back in high school and you were on your way to get a bite.

"Good, thanks! But I am feeling a lot better now," you can't help the smile that is plastered on your face, Jimin has always had that effect. "I am still working at the bakery..." you glance at him and you are happy to see that his interest hasn't flattered unlike others, "and I'm head chef now and get to choose what the bakery sells!"

"That's nice to hear Y/N," Jimin says taking an apprehensive look at Y/N.

While Y/N was never one to dream, she still had hopes and fantasies. Something she never knew that Jimin was aware of . Back in twelfth grade, before graduation, Jimin accidentally came across Y/N's recipe log for the bakery. Between the ending pages she had sketched a drawing for a shop sign, specifically a sign for a bakery , on it written "Sugar".

Jimin sighs, shakes his head and asks, "Anyways, to what do I owe the pleasure?" You simply smirk at him.

"No way! You are still doing that???" You nod. "With Ada?" You nod harder as your eyes crinkles.

"I don't know whether to find that sad or cute," Jimin says to which you swat his arm repeatedly as  you glare at him.

"Ohhh I see, just cause you became a big city dancer, now you're too good for our cheap breaks, uh?" You stare at him questioningly. Jimin is just about to answer as you raise your hand," Let me just remind you, Mister Park, that you were a part of this the first three years."

Jimin simply answers, "A very proud participant at that," and now it's your turn to look at him with soft eyes.

You look back at the cashier by the counter, " Could I have two slices of the Banoffee pie, please?" You and Jimin glance at each other .

Back when it was the three of you (Ada, Jimin and you), the first food you ate together at the resort was always Banoffee pie. This happened after you found out you all had a bit of an obsession with cream.

Jimin forcibly pays for the pies as you look for a place for the two of you. While Jimin goes to the bathroom and to fetch the cutlery, you sneak a message to Ada.

[17:15] guess who I just bumped into?

[17:16]  sweetie 💖really, you know I don't like guessing games ?

[17:17] you don't, expect when it comes to _______ ?

[17:18]  sweetie 💖To who?????

[17:19] you're no fun :(

[17.20]Here are some hints: dance, blonde, high school 👀?

[17:21]  sweetie 💖Haha, very funny 🖕🏻, but I told you I was over it, it has been like 4 years christ 🙄

[17.23] You known what, whatever 😑 first don't use the Lord's name in vain and second I'll cut to the chase, Jimin, the one who you have had a crush on for almost a decade / our high school friend is here... we're in the lounge area by the restaurant eating banoffee pie, so if you want to join in on an old tradition please do pass by, Miss "I'm in Denial" 😘

Jimin sits down across from you. You talk about his time in the big city, about getting to dance for a living. The more you talk about it the wider his smile gets and the brighter his aura shines. While your modest self can't comprehend the allure of such a lifestyle, you can understand Jimin, and what his dreams mean to him. That's enough for you to mimic his smile.

Just as you and Jimin are about to part ways, you see the familiar bounce of a black bone straight bob heading your way. As you are about to call out Ada's name, Jimin turns his head at the rustling sound of Ada's skiing pants. Now it's your turn to take the backseat. The atmosphere turns silent and calm. The closer Ada gets the stronger her deep breaths resound. You wonder if she is out of breath from seeing Jimin or from rushing to the restaurant to eat some pie. Her trailing eyes gives you the answer.

"Hey," Jimin cuts through the silent with a small wave and a comforting smile.

"Hey!" Ada responds in an overly cheery voice, black hair strands sticking to her forehead.

 I told you I wasn't lying," you snap your fingers motioning at Jimin standing by your side.

"I see..." she mumbles while fumbling with the straps of her skiing overalls.

"Are you guys just going to stand there like you don't know each other," you comment and they glare at you.

"What!? you make it seem like you hated each other... I mean the least you could do is like hug or something," you add pursing your lips.

Ada looks at you and her face flinches which means she is suppressing her "Really!?" face. You simply shake your head at her with widened eyes and try your best to suppress a smile.

Jimin takes the first step, contradicting his past behaviour. While Ada is looking for a way to reassure him that he doesn't have to do it and that you are just messing with them, Jimin takes another step, more than he has ever taken. Ada's past betrayals keep her rooted where she stands. Just like a bride, Jimin takes the last steps towards Ada, looks at her, smiles at her and finally sees her for the second time, except this may as well be the first. Ada's arms let go of her strap to smoothen her overall, because now Jimin is looking at her. They stare and end up smiling at each other. As cute at this is, you're growing impatient so you give Jimin a little push. As they engulf one another, it's finally time for all three of you to exhale in unison.

Jimin lets go of Ada to brush his hand through his hair while Ada moistens her lips. He reaches back for a bag beside his chair and extends it to Ada.

"I didn't know Y/N told you I was were. I was planning on giving it to you later. But you're here now so... yeah..."

Ada takes the bag, peaks inside with a nose scrunching smile.

"It's tradition, and traditions should be kept, right?" Jimin questions and Ada's smile flattens a bit.

She sighs and says, "Some traditions are meant to be broken." Ada stares right at Jimin, hoping this time around he understands her.

Inside the bag was a carefully packed slice of banoffee pie.

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A couple of days pass by. You and Ada hit the slopes everyday after your collective morning walks. The two of you soak up the festive spirit of the resort. Christmas is a week away, which means that work is slowly but steadily creeping  back into your conscience. But for now, you choose to appease yourself with copious amounts of  marshmallow filled hot chocolate and the resort's exquisite selection of pastries.

Today is no different, with your hot chocolate in one hand, you point eagerly at the Yule Log Cake that wasn't there yesterday. The cashier shakes her head at you while cutting into the cake. You sit by the table you and Jimin shared on your first day and indulge in the delicacy in front of you . You're in such as trans that you don't hear Ada creeping close to you.

"Wahhhh!" she screams as she shakes your shoulder. Your cutlery clings as it hits the floor and you involuntarily spit some hot chocolate onto the table. In your moment of distress Ada takes the opportunity to steal a bite of your cake. You put on your blank look and stare at her dumbfounded. She takes a short look at you, smiles and takes a seat across from you.

"Soooo... I know we didn't plan to do anything this afternoon but Jimin hit me up and said that there was a bus from here that would take us to the ice skating rink." She checks if you're doing fine now and resumes, "You know it would be just like our first trip, tradition and all."

"I thought you wanted to break traditions," you say and it comes out more harshly than you intended it to.

Ada rolls her eyes, "Yes, but I was only referring to some not all," and now it's your turn to roll your eyes at her.

"Anyways do you want to come or no?"

"No." you say and Ada ticks her head to the side surprised.

"Well, that doesn't matter, this is my payback for the Jimin stunt you pulled. Here's your ticket. If you don't show up I will expect a refund by the end of the day," she says slapping the ticket onto your right palm.

Ada stands up to leave, as she's walking you shout, " Don't act like you didn't like it," you scoff, how ungrateful can one actually be.

You take a look at the ticket and cringe at the greyish hue on your hands. The only downside of winter. You basically need to lotion up every three hours. You hurriedly devour the rest of your cake and rush to your room to change.

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Everyone is already seated on the bus when you arrive, panting  from your little 'run'. You take it as a sign to go easy with the cakes. Your eyes skim the seats, the bus is narrow and hot, and you feel both happy and betrayed when you see Ada sitting with Jimin near the back of the bus. You walk towards them sporting an exaggerated fake smile .

"Hey Y/N!" Jimin says while glancing between you and Ada, checking if the current situation is okay.

You nod reassuringly. To that Jimin points at a mop of wavy black hair infront of him.

"This is my friend Taehyung, he's staying with me at the resort." At that you and Taehyung glance at each to other and exchange courteous and straight smiles.

Taehyung is focused on typing on his phone and you aren't interested enough to reprimand him for using it in a phone free zone. To combat the everlasting presence of smartphones in our modern day to day life, Punniton's Ski Resort decided to place certain phone free zones. It seemed people liked the idea enough since no one has yet to complain. Taehyung however doesn't fit into people. This is something you would come to realize the more you got to know him.

You glance at Jimin with a questioning look and he makes a head motion towards the seat beside Taehyung. You keep bickering back and forth about where you should sit that Taehyung ends up stealing a quick glance at you, but this time he gives you an actual genuine smile, though there's still no teeth. Feeling rude and defeated, you sit yourself down next to him. You try your best to properly fit into the bus seat but your winter jacket, which is slightly too big because you couldn't afford the better model in your size, keeps getting in the way. Finally you give up and simply unzip the jacket.

You're in a phone free bus, in the mountains, so you wonder how the hell this Taehyung dude manages to get a reception, but at least he isn't bored like you. You know who else isn't bored? Ada and Jimin, or as you call them "Admin" because they have been affecting your mood for the past days, but right now is gotta be the worst instance of them all. It's all giggles and more giggles and small claps. All I get when I turn to my left is a man with a  handsome face and even better looking hands typing himself away. You wish you could at least have the window seat and busy yourself by looking at the landscape.

You nudge Taehyung a bit, surprisingly he instantly turns his head your way.

"Hmmm..." You start, "not to be rude or anything but would you mind if we exchanged seats," you point as his phone,      " since you're typing and I have nothing to do, I would just like to look outside."

Taehyung motions for you to get up with his hand. You step aside, he gets off his seat and you realise that he's at least a head taller than you. You waddle into the window seat and fix your jacket so that Taehyung has enough space to sit. As soon as he sits back down, he focuses his attention back on the typing. Not wanting to disturb him you mumble to yourself, "Thank you."

Ten minutes pass by and you're bored again. You look at Taehyung who has his head leaned back against the seat with his eyes closed. Now that you think about it, despite the endless scrolling and stalking you did on social media you've never seen Taehyung on any of Jimin's social media posts. But you also knew that his social media was more for business than for private reasons. Though you had never seen him before, he definitely looked like a big city boy. He wore classic muted colors, sleek clothing that looked brand new and actually fit him. Between you and Ada, you didn't really care about how you looked from a fashion standpoint, but even with her "low income report" Ada managed to look like she came from the big city.

You, on the other hand, were looking awfully shabby beside the other three individuals. Even if Taehyung himself didn't make you feel this way, just looking at him felt like an insult to your physical appearance. You felt like you were being scolded by your mom to fix your hair, your clothes, your everything, basically fix your entire self.

Now that you think about it, it has been a while since you talked to your mom, you make a mental note to message her when you get back to the resort. You turn around, kneeling on your seat to find out that Ada has dosed off and Jimin has voluntarily remained silent even when he can clearly see that you have no one to talk to. He looks up at you.

"By the way, my mom told me to say hi to you and congratulate you on your sold out show, like a while ago, but better late than never, right?" you say, trying to lift up the mood.

Jimin's eyes are moving around and he's chewing his pinky. He must be thinking about something. Yet he manages, in classic Jimin fashion, to give you his endearing eye smile.

"Well, tell her thank you and that I will come visit her soon."

You give him a shocked face, "Oh so that's how it works, all I need is to compliment you a little and then you will come visit."

You nod your head, "Uh, uh I see how it works."

Jimin glances at Ada before he looks back at you and says, "All you need to do is ask."

You give him a tight smile and sit back down on your seat.

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You wake up from the sudden rush of cold air you feel on your arm. Hastily, you turn you head towards where Taehyung should be, eyelids still dormant and hum softly.

"Errm... Y/N, we have arrived..." Taehyung says poking your arm.  

Still drowsy from sleep, you barely register the sound of Ada speaking in the back. You feel a hand touch your hair and instantly you're awake, ready to attack.

Taehyung furrows his brows at your reaction, clearly confused, but still glad that you're finally awake. You don't know Taehyung, so you decide not to punish him for touching your hair, but you do flip Ada off for giving him a green light. She responds by sticking her tongue out. The bus driver's voice echos through the intercom.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at our stop, Lake Punniton. It's currently 14:13. You will be able to explore the forest and skate up until it's time for departure at 17:30. I would recommend that we gather back here at this same stop,10 minutes prior to the departure time. Anyways, I don't want to keep you waiting, so enjoy your time here. Once again, thank you for choosing Punniton's Ski Resort!"

Soon after his commentary, everyone rushes out of the bus. You step out of the bus and instantly want to get back in there. Your cheeks are tingling and your ears feel like they are practically boiling. Someone pulls you into a side hug as you see a flash go off in front of you. You're about to protest and say that you did not agree to appear in any promotional content for the resort, but you notice that behind the camera is Taehyung.

"I hope you don't mind me shooting you guys, it's not often that I get to take pictures of other people," Taehyung says waving his camera around. It's only now that your mind registers that this is your first time actively listening to his voice.

"Nahh, you don't have to worry. You can take as many pictures as you want so long you promise that we can get them as well," Ada chirps with a sense of new found positivity.

It's official, you think, the Jimin effect is now rooted back in place. While you're happy that Ada is opening up to Jimin once again, you're slightly uncomfortable because of the uncertain outcome of her trust in him. You don't have time to keep pondering on the issue as Jimin pulls the oversized sleeve of your jacket.

"C'mon, let's go!"

You retrieve your sleeve with a simple pull but keep walking towards the rink. Once there, Taehyung hands you a pair of skates and you thank him.

"You're welcome," he says sitting beside you on the bench. Now that he's speaking directly with you, and it is just the two of you, you pay close attention to the characteristics of his voice. Sleek, classically deep, calm and a tad bit emotionless. He sounds good. Not wanting to compliment him, even in your own head, you convince yourself that that is how people from the big city sound like.

Once you're done lacing up your skates, you motion to Taehyung that you're going for a little round. He nods while gesturing at his camera. You push off from the bench and let yourself glide over the frozen lake. The ice is a bit rough but you can't really complain, it's a lake not an actual skating rink. The only advantage to skating in a lake in comparison to a rink, is the unlimited space you get to roam. Obviously some places are blocked because of the unstable ice but there's still a vast part of the lake available. You skate straight for as long as you can while staring at the sky.

"Y/N!" Jimin shouts, "Come over here!"

Jimin and Ada are ahead of you. You pick up the speed only to fumble when attempting a snowplow stop. You inevitably fall on the ice.

"Karma." Ada utters under her breath.

You give her your best stank face while attempting to get yourself back up. You end up falling down again as you get a gush of snow on your face from Taehyung's perfect snowplow stop. You sigh defeated. Taehyung glances at you worryingly. He extends his clothed hand at you. You are mad but not mad enough to freeze your ass off on the ice, so you accept his help. With a strong grip Taehyung pulls you back up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ma—"

"Yeah it's okay, as Ada said, karma," you cut him off pointing towards the benches by the frozen lake, "I am gonna go for a walk in the forest, just so I can, you know, clear my mind."

As you skate away, Taehyung makes an attempt to catch up to you in order to give you a better apology but Jimin holds him back and tells him, " Don't worry, it's not you, it's just because you come from the big city".

While Jimin isn't wrong, he isn't totally right either. Yes, you are not fond of him because he comes from the big city, though you are unaware of where he actually lives. You also find it hard to like him because you feel inferior to him. Unlike you, Taehyung actually carries a genuine sense of self-esteem and comfortability with oneself. He was never once, ever since meeting you and Ada, intimidated by your friendship with Jimin. He never showcased an ounce of uncertainty with regards to the activities you've shared so far. You, on the other hand, knew that both Ada and Jimin did not inform you about a forth addition to the trip because that would have been a sure way to keep you seated in the restaurant eating your afternoon and health away.

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Beep! Beep! Beep!

You reach for your phone to stop the timer. You were mad which meant you needed a walk. It had been a while since you had taken one of your timed anger walks. Though now that you have calmed down you realise you were more hurt than mad. Once again, walking blesses you with its magic. It has been twenty minutes, you don't know how far you have walked but your shoes are covered with a thick layer of powdery snow. Unexpectedly, a couple white spots show up on your jacket. You look up to find out that it has started to snow. You should probably head back to the skating area before you get lost.

Scrunching sounds fill the forest as you move forward back to the skating area. Now that you're calm, you know that there really isn't a reason for you to be mad at the situation. Yes, you wanted it to be like old times, just the three of you but that's not how things work. Not for you at least, they have never been how you wanted them. That's how you became so modest.

The area around your neck is white. The melting snow is trickling down inside of your jacket. Damn oversized jacket! You will need to buy an extra large scarf to survive this winter.

By the time you reach the ice skating area, your scarf is very moist, your eyelashes are white and your chin is wet. You sit by the bench  to search for Ada's bright red beanie. You had gifted it to her during last years's Secret Santa. Because of this, it was a red knitted beanie with a white motif of a dancer in the center. If she had known it was you, she would have blamed you for reminding her of him.

You can't seem to find the red beanie amongst the crowd. Click. Click. You snap your head to the side to find Taehyung's camera pointed at you. You stare into it. Click. You look away. Click. You stand up to walk away. Click.

Taehyung didn't know you so he could understand your initial dismissal of him. Plus, Jimin had warned him that you weren't very fond of city people but he still insisted that you were friendly. However, you weren't making it easy for him to approach you, let alone get to know you. So he decided to breakthrough in his own way, the one he felt the most comfortable about, by using his camera. Taehyung didn't only approach you to catch your attention but because the scenery, with you on the bench, a slight layer of snow still on top of  your tightly coiled ball of hair, would make a great picture.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Taehyung interjects before you manage to go too far.

Taehyung jogs to catch up with you.

"Where are the others?" you ask, hoping he will get the gist.

"They went for a walk," he says keeping it short, just how Jimin told him. "I stayed because I wanted to take some pictures of the scenery," he adds, lifting up his camera to prove his point.

You didn't ask but he still told you. Something you would find out later is that Taehyung often does or says things somebody asked him to.

Here's all you've gathered about Taehyung so far: nice (or at least seems like it), handsome, artistic, big city boy, stylish, confident and persistent. With of all of this, things aren't looking good for Taehyung with regards to the possibility of you befriending him. While Taehyung's profile was far from ideal, there was one big pro that could compensate for everything.

Heis, after all, friends with Jimin. That must mean something?

"How come you decided to follow Jimin here?"

Taehyung turns his head towards you, a smile tugging at his lips. "Nothing in particular honestly, I was free, Jimin offered, I accepted." Taehyung shrugs his shoulders. This is something Jimin would let you know. Things with Taehyung were often like this, meaning easy.

"That's nice, I guess..." You think you should add something to fill up the silence but there's nothing to be said, so you make shit up.

"Be honest. This must be a downgrade compared to what you are usually used to, right?"

Small ridges forn around Taehyungs nose and under his eyes. Oopps... really Y/N!? You couldn't get your discriminatory ego in check.

"I'm so so-" you start.

"No need to be. I mean, you're not totally wrong," he counters swaying his head side to side.

You turn to look at him, eyes wide. Taehyung looks back raising his eyebrows with a close mouthed smile that accentuates his bread cheeks.

"Ahhhh, how dare you, "you respond with an exaggerated scoff. Now, Taehyung eyes's crinkle and you snicker lightly.

Okay, maybe if you gave yourself some time and a healthy dose of welcoming energy, you and Taehyung could become more than just acquaintances. Not exactly friends but not strangers either.

"First of all, please do not post those pictures of me." You turn to stare at your shoes. "And secondly, I'm sorry for my behaviour, that is, my unwarranted bias towards you"

"No worries, it's all already forgotten." That's another thing Taehyung does a lot, forget on demand.

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You and Taehyung are seated at a table in the eating area by the bus top when you see Ada and Jimin walk towards you.

"Feeling better, Y/N?" Ada asks.

You dismiss her mocking tone. "Yes, I was until exactly 5 seconds ago." You turn to look at Taehyung and take a deep breath.

"Much better," you say.

"Uh oh, I see you have broken the barrier." Jimin smiles at the two of you. "That's great, in fact fantastic! It will make the journey back home sooo much easier," he says visibly relieved.

"What do you mean?" You look at Jimin questioningly.

"He didn't tell you?" he says, looking at you. Turning to Taehyung, "You didn't tell her?"

You wave your hands around.

"Taehyung lives in Warringham," Ada swiftly adds.

Before you have the time to interrogate Taehyung, he's flying off the seat frantically searching through his bag and his jacket.

"What is it?" you ask.

Taehyung doesn't answer. You look at Jimin and he shrugs.

Taehyungs is in frenzy mode for a good five minutes before he calms down. Though I doubt it's because he has solved the problem.

The driver calls for everyone to get back on board. You hurry inside before everyone gets in to get the best seats, the ones at the back.

Though you did not talk about it, you assume the same positions you had on the journey to the lake. It was as if you had gone back in time, experiencing déjà vu. Jimin and Ada are laughing except this time they are beside you, and Taehyung is frantically typing himself away. Only this time he looks worried.

Now that you're in the bus the barrier between you and Taehyung has rebuilt itself and you don't dare to ask him if everything is alright. This will happen a lot of times between you and Taehyung. A constant cycle: open, close, open, close, open and repeat.

You are all seated down in the bus, three best friends and a spontaneous add-on that currently look very distressed. Only you didn't know that the add on would end up making you similarly distressed, if not more.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━▼━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

— a/n: thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed the first chapter ! Any sort of feedback is appreciated. I do tend to mix the reader’s POV with third person omniscient POV.

[heave-hyung]

A List of VLive (and a few additional) Occurences

(If any of the links don’t work, just send me an ask/dm me which ones aren’t working and I’ll look into it, but they should all be fine!) 

In Jungook’s 161129 VLive around the 27 minute mark, he interrupts himself by burping like three times and then apologizes before carrying on (“I keep burping, sorry.”)

In RM’s - MAP OF THE SOUL : PERSONA Behind around the 32 minute mark, Namjoon burps (you could actually hear that shit if you listen closely, and if your volume is high enough you can ever so vaguely hear Jungkook in the above one listed for him, too), “Sorry, it’s the soft drink.” 

In Taehyung’s 170623 BTS LIVE: 김태형과 함께하는 고민상단고  around the 16 minute mark, Tae makes the most ridiculous faces as he tries (and fails) to burp, announcing “I drank a lot of cola.” 

Jin’s 180905 Live has him burping and talking about how water upsets his stomach and how it drives him crazy, ends that section of his rant with “anyway, now for a question that’s not about my digestive system…” (I’d put direct time marks but it’s a shorter live anyway and it’s sorta sprinkled about if I remember correctly)

Umm, if you would really like individual time marks for it I can post them, but the entirety of the 180907 (haha it was posted on my birthdayyyy~) BTS Live: 오랜만이죠?! has multiple events sprinkled through them...at one point Hobi comes in to steal chicken, burp, and leave, and that’s it (I think it’s this one)...Jimin only mentions it once, he burps and gets all embarrassed at one point and Jin comforts him by talking about his own bad stomach on his last live (mentioned above), but beyond what’s mentioned he sorta looks like he’s trying not to burp for the second half of it if I’m being honest, but that might just be me. Jin also mentions that spicy food gives him “side effects in the toilet the next morning.” This is all around a fun one to watch. Jimin and Jin are an interesting pair, hahaha. 

In Hoseok and Yoongi’s 170622 BTS Live : 화개장터 솝 꿀피부를 부탁해 at the 18 minute mark Hoseok reveals that he gets a stomach ache when he doesn’t eat and literally two seconds (okay, a minute) later Yoongi hums an agreement and then interrupts himself by burping. And then Hoseok finds it absolutely fucking hilarious and comments that it’s only natural while Yoongi makes it metaphorical and poetic. In Namjoon’s 170625 BTS Live : RM, he gives himself a little speech on not burping (with weird counterproductive movements; isn’t patting your chest meant to help you burp, Namjoon? Jeez) around the 13 minute mark, then he says “I shouldn’t drink coke” before drinking more coke. His 148 IQ at its finest. 

I feel like I’m forgetting something, but these are all of the ones that come to mind...oh, and there’s that clip from that one VLive that comes up if you google “Jungkook farting” where people have been debating on if a noise that happened was his ass or the chair his ass was on. 

I’ll also drop a few other non-vlive related things I’ve stumbled across: In this video, Hoseok and Taehyung both laugh over Taehyung having a bad stomach ache (and, based on context, the runs) at about the 17 minute mark. And in one of Tae’s old logs he talks about being stuck in the bathroom for three hours with a horrible stomach ache after eating too much food truck junk. The last thing I have on the topic of diarrhea is Yoongi discussing his appendicitis, which you’ll find a source for just by googling “Yoongi’s appendicitis” lololol, he essentially just says “while promoting in Japan, I woke up with a really bad stomach ache. I thought I just had diarrhea, but nothing came out” before giving vague details on the hospital trip and the flight from Japan to Korea with a burst appendix. 

And here’s a link to with Jungkook either hugging his stomach or handling back pain (I’ve heard both, I don’t think anyone knows exactly what was going on here.)

And, for those of you who like emeto, I’d highly suggest going through all of the endplates in Rookie King because there are quite a few moments with gagging type of reactions and stuff (they eat gross shit, so. One time, I think it’s in episode two, whichever one where he had his face painted like Jigsaw, Yoongi gagged in the middle of talking and lurched off cam for a sec before laughing it off. And then we obviously can’t forget about Jungkook hugging his stomach after eating that hot sorbet.)

If anyone has anything to add on, feel free! Of course, beyond all of these, there’s also the clips/screenshots from BV season 4 that are going around, the ones from that one Run BTS episode where Yoongi (and Jimin, I think) were complaining of nausea, screenshots from the behind-the-scenes thing where Yoongi talks about airsickness and Jimin talks about carsickness, and then there’s Jungkook’s vomiting scene in the BS&T Japanese MV that I’m sure everyone already knows about.

[bts-love-sweat-tears]

The one ring to bind them all, or just a solitary, cranky demon, part 5

Title: The one ring to bind them all (or just a solitary, cranky demon), part 5

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

Type: fluff, angst, romance, demon!au, arranged marriage!au, royalty!au, gothic!au

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: literal emotional manipulation, mentions of previous injury, massive amounts of cheese, just a lot of interpersonal drama: jealous boyfriend.

Word Count: 2,435

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 , Part 4

A/N: I’m sitting here drinking cherry blossom sake and feeling ashamed that it took me so long to post this- I meant to have it out on Halloween for spooky season. But instead I re-wrote it about 50000 times.  I’ve been feeling very soft lately, so this got a little more romantic/cheesy than I normally do! Also good luck resisting Jimin, who can literally manipulate emotions. P.S. The Southern Realm is inspired by Southern Spain (think Granada), and the Greek Isles (on my bucket list).  

There will definitely be part 6….eventually. I should really focus on gainful employment (sigh….the negative sides of capitalism).  Let’s hope the “Keep Reading cut and everything else works.  Send me feedback, comments, theories, whatever! I’m grateful for your patient support <3

Yoongi’s arms are secure around you, and his shoulders block out some of the blinding light. You struggle away from his grasp, awaiting the inevitable post-teleportation nausea. But either he was gentler this time, or your body is busy trying to stem the internal bleeding, because it never comes.

Instead of nausea, you were overwhelmed by the brightness around you. After the indeterminate (and seemingly interminable) time you spent in the Western Realms, the Southern realm was positively blinding in its beauty. Around you are blue-domed buildings, contrasted against pristine white walls. Though you have never seen the ocean, you had heard of its existence and can only presume that the glittering expanse you see between the gaps in the buildings must be it. The air smells salty, somehow, and if it weren’t for the pounding in your ribs you might have wondered more at the rhythmic sound of water, which you could only assume were waves.

But the pain forces you to narrow your focus to your more immediate surroundings. You are in some kind of terraced garden. There are fountains filled with tranquil, reflective water,  and palm trees swaying in a phantom breeze. The flowers are leafier and more exotic than you could have ever dreamed. A demon of shadows, Yoongi looks tired around the edges of his eyes, but otherwise is as imposing as ever.

Your presence does not go unnoticed, and a young looking boy stands from the chaise lounge where he had been idling. There are others there, but they are seemingly at his disposal, deferring to his every move. Based on this fact alone, you know he is someone important. When he gets up, there is something unmistakeably predatory in his smooth gait, something almost sexual, and you realize that you have just met your next demon prince-Jimin?You try to think back to the endless lessons with Hobi, but all your mind can handle at the moment is the sinister spreading warmth in your rib, Yoongi at your side, and the newcomer in front of you.

As he nears, you realize that his clothes are just as excessive as his garden. His shirt is almost sheer, spun from the finest threads you have ever seen, and his linen pants are immaculate. Combined with his bare feet and the thinnest of gold circlets peeking through his dark locks, the effect is something akin to the angels that had graced the large cathedrals you had been lucky to visit with your father.  But you knew from the same, sometimes gruesome, religious art, that angels were more than ethereal beauty and puffy feathers. They were heavenly warriors who could dispense eternal damnation or salvation with only minor inconvenience to themselves.

Jimin turned, eyes glittering. As you suspected, something lethal lingered behind his clear eyes. While you knew that logically you should be cautious, particularly after the reception you had received from Taehyung and Jungkook, all you could feel was warm waves of happiness as you stared into his gaze. Yoongi cleared his throat uncomfortably, but you simply couldn’t tear your eyes from Jimin’s. He moved closer.

Without much warning, he leaned over and placed his hands gently on your ribs. Yoongi’s hands were usually cold, the few times you had touched, but Jimin ran warmer. Still cool, but the faint lingering warmth of the first sunny day after a long and dreary winter. The longer his hands lingered, the more peaceful you felt.

If the garden hadn’t been so quiet, you would have likely missed Yoongi’s sharp intake of breath.

“I’m right here, Jimin. Could you tone it down?” He said, voice tinged with an aggressive edge that you’d heard only rarely.

“Prince Yoongi,” Jimin practically purrs, “do forgive me. It has been positively ages since I’ve encountered a human, let alone healed one- I’d rather be safe than sorry. Particularly with such a pretty patient.” He winked at you and you felt your cheeks warm.

Yoongi humphed, but Jimin ignored him, eyes studiously trained on your ribcage. Under normal circumstances, you would have likely been irritated by both his presumption and the fact that they were talking as though you weren’t even there. But as Jimin continued his ministrations, you felt yourself drift into a deep, peacefully silent sleep. Luckily, Yoongi was there to catch you as you fell.

You awoke to a solid presence at your back. Momentary panic set in, until you hear a familiar raspy voice. Goosebumps raise on your skin, though not entirely from chill.

“Just me, warmheart.”

You roll over slowly, careful not to damage your injured rib. Yoongi is there, eyes dark, but hair smooth. Calm, then, but watchful. You blush, despite months of cohabitation. Old habits die hard, as the saying goes. You think back to your conservative father, and then banish him as quickly as he came.

Yoongi smirks, and gently squeezes your hip in jest. It felt so natural that you hadn’t even noticed that it was there. As though he can read your mind, his voices your embarrassment.

“That’s what bothers you, warmheart? Someone fierce enough to take on the Western demons, and withstand Jimin’s empathy is embarrassed by sharing a bed with your fiancé?”

You smack him lightly. “Don’t say it like that!”

His grin widens. Sometimes, in these quiet moments, you’re in awe of the beautiful boy that resides in the centuries-old demon. You’re not sure if its luck or fate, but you thank whatever forces brought Yoongi into your life.

Yoongi’s face becomes serious. “I missed you, while you were gone. I waited centuries for you, yet only a few days apart was making me crazy.” Now it is his turn to blush, and suddenly you see the appeal of the blushy tropes from your (not-so) secret stash of courtly novels. You are brought back to the present by the grim thought of Yoongi’s displeasure, should he ever find out that you made such a comparison. You know that he would never hurt you, but certain tomes might go missing from the library. A fate truly worse than death.

His gaze can’t meet yours, but his arms have snaked around your back, pulling you closer. “Please don’t waiver in your feelings. I know Jimin is….tempting, but what we have is real.”

“You think me so weak-willed?” You can’t decide whether to be flattered or offended.

You raise your eyebrows but allow him to continue.  

“Jimin is an empath-a particularly rare and ancient kind of demon.” You say nothing, unfamiliar with the term, so Yoongi continues. “He has what humans would call charisma, but amplified. Not only can he read someone and understand their feelings, he can actually manipulate them, change them to suit his wishes.”

Your eyes widen slightly, though you’re still lethargic.  You wonder if you are witnessing Yoongi jealous for the first time in your blossoming relationship. Instead you ask simply,

“And how is that related to healing?”

“So much of pain is actually mental. In your case, your rib was damaged, but also hurting you was your perception of the pain. You’d have to ask him more-he’s explained it to me, but I never had the patience to understand his lectures. In any case, the mental and the physical are closely linked- he expended more power than was strictly necessary healing you, and I’m not sure what side effects there may be.”

You’re not sure what is making Yoongi so insecure, so you opt to act more boldly than you normally would. You snuggle closer, flush against his front. Your head tucks perfectly under his chin, and your nose rests close to his collarbone. His arms tighten around you and he stills, seemingly finally peaceful. He smells absolutely amazing- earthy but clean. A strange new hunger fills you, but you push it back. Under your ear, you can hear his heartbeat.

Lightening the mood, you crack a joke. “And humans think demons don’t have hearts.”

He scoffs at that, a welcome sound. “Yeah, now if only mine would quit running off and getting into trouble.” You’re grateful once again for the darkness, lest he see how red your face and ears are at the moment. Who knew that he was such an insufferable flirt?

Not trusting your voice you lapse back into silence. Yoongi’s breathing is even and calming. Ever since Jimin’s ministrations the pain in your side has subsided considerably. You can still feel it if you stretch or lean into it, but otherwise it’s hard to believe that Jungkook punched you only this morning. It feels like a million years ago. You ponder the passage of time as you slowly but surely drift off to sleep, tucked up against Yoongi. It feels right,and you have no dreams.

You awake with a start, the moon blindingly bright outside of your window. Really, here, there seems to be very little distinction between outside and inside, and there is no glass separating you from the enticing night-time view. Suddenly restless, you get up, sure not to disturb Yoongi, who is sleeping like the dead, the silent rise and fall of his chest the only thing letting you know that he still lives. You don’t know if he is exhausted from the day or if he is alway like this-it occurs to you that this is the first time you have ever seen him sleeping. In the human world, the two of you had stayed awake at night, getting to know each other. In his house, you had your own wing, though you spent your days together. It’s strange to you how short a period the two of you have known each other, but what scares you more is how quickly his life has become inextricably tied to your own. Realizing that these thoughts won’t allow you any more sleep, you venture into the garden.

The water babbles softly, like something out of a fairytale, but otherwise the terrace is still and silent. The activity of the servants has subsided, as any sane person is asleep. The moon is shining bright enough to illuminate at least a basic outline of most of the garden, and you contemplate whether this can possibly be the same moon from back home. Through the gap in the nearby buildings, you can see the ocean in the distance. You had noticed it earlier, but had been more concerned about your loss of blood. You stare at the diamonds the moon paints in the ripples of the water as it laps the shore somewhere out of sight. It is hypnotizing, and you have no idea how long you’d been staring before you noticed Jimin at your side.

In the darkness, he is little more than a wispy outline, despite the moon. You chalk it up to his flowy apparel, the same thing he was wearing this morning. Seemingly, wrinkles are not something that afflict Prince Jimin. Likely, they are not even a word in his vocabulary,you think wryly to yourself.  His eyes slide over to you, and you stop yourself from staring at his immaculate profile.

“What amuses you, little human?” His voice is like a whisper of the softest silk. Despite Yoongi’s early warning about manipulation, you can’t find it in yourself to be scared of this gentle soul.

“Just wondering how you keep your clothes so neat” you say, smile curving the edges of your mouth upward. His gaze lingers there.

“Suddenly, I understand my brethren’s fascination with humans,” he chuckles, gaze never leaving your own. “Pray tell, is this something you concern yourself with every new person you meet? Have I violated some unspoken human etiquette?”

You blush slightly, and he chuckles again. It is melodic-really, there is no other word for it. “Not at all. It just seems unlikely to end the day in the same state that you started it in.”

He smiles again, eyes crinkling into crescent moons. For the briefest of moments, your heart patters erratically, before resuming its original beat.

“What an entirely human viewpoint. Your lives are short-the blink of an eye, a sunrise and sunset, a turn around the sun. We live forever and are unchanging. We exist, as though in suspended animation: change so slow, we barely notice as we turn to stone.”

He’s clearly speaking in a riddle, and before you can guess as to which famed scholar he might be citing, he continues.

“Which is why, little human, I would like to try something-to assuage my endless boredom.” You wait, wondering what ridiculous test he might have in mind, thinking back to your time with Tae and Kookie -not that you would call him that to his face.

He moves closer, placing his warm palms on either side of your face. His gaze meets your own, and you blush again. You don’t look away, but nor do you move. You expect heart palpitations, nerves, a nervous stutter-all things you’ve experienced at one point or another with Yoongi, but you feel: nothing.

Prince Jimin’s gaze grows more fierce, his hands heavier on your cheeks, and you continue to wait.

“How entirely interesting, and infuriating.”

Suddenly, he is gone, and you are standing in the garden, even more perplexed than when  you’d been listening to his earlier imagery. You turn, eager to return to sleepy Yoongi’s comforting embrace-something sane in the insanity that is the demon world.

But he is already there, across the terrace, eyes alert and glittering.

“What are you doing awake?” You ask, and you hear the guilt in your words as you speak them.

“I could ask you the same,” he says, voice low and menacing. “Did I NOT just finish warning you about what he could do? And here you are……subjecting yourself to it like some kind of perverse experiment?” His words are biting.

“Yoongi, why are you so angry? Literally nothing happened. I woke up because I couldn’t sleep, and he appeared a while later,” you say soothingly, trying to placate him.

“Well, maybe he can’t hurt you, but you can certainly hurt me,” he said, sounding exhausted once again. “Do you know how scared I was when I woke up again and you were gone, after being severely injured earlier today? And then I come out here and find you two staring each other down, his hands on your face?” He runs his hands over his face, before promptly turning and stalking off.

You stand there, stunned, and then it hits you….. Was Yoongi jealous?

[talaedelberg]

Traveling Curiosities

From his spot behind the curtains, Jimin could hear the chatter in the crowd. In the lull, people were conversing on various matters, talking business, talking trivial things like gossip. He couldn’t see them, but he knew that was probably what was going on. These types of events brought together all sorts of people, all eager to watch the stage and discuss what they’d just seen with their peers. The sound all melded together in one undistinguishable roar to his ears. It fuelled the steady pounding of his heart, the anticipation growing within his chest.

He twisted his neck side to side, the latter giving a satisfying crack on the second go around. His arms flexed up above his head as he stood up on the tips of his toes, lightly bouncing himself up and down to stretch his tendons. Jimin leaned forward, bending in half to lay his hands flat on the ground. He’d done all of this multiple times already, but part of him had a hard time keeping still while waiting.

“Jimin.” A man walked past, lightly brushing his waist, and he knew that was his cue.

Jimin nodded and stepped out from behind the wall of black curtains. He climbed the set of stairs onto the wooden stage, striding past a stout bearded man looking very official behind his podium, and entering the scope of the spotlight. It was bright, instantly radiating heat all over Jimin’s skin the second he stepped beneath it. The crowd silenced as their gazes all turned to him. He did not look at any particular spot in the mass of spectators, but he knew they all had their eyes glued to his thin but sculpted frame.

The skin-tight leotard left his solid thighs and muscular arms on display, as well as hinting at the curvature of his chest from where the fabric dipped low beneath his neck. It was like wearing a second skin; a skin that shimmered and sparkled beneath the light like moonlight on a lake. The fabric was a dyed mesh of purples, blues, and silvers, mixing together in a sparkly galaxy upon his body. Stars littered his torso, comets falling down across his hip. Every slightest movement made it shine differently.

It was extravagant, but calculated. The clothing had its purpose.

All was still in the tent as Jimin deeply inhaled and gracefully stretched one arm up, twisting his wrist out. His fingers followed like an extension of his whole arm, soft and flowing. He could hear music playing within his own head, even if he was surrounded by silence. It was a melody of strings and odd metal objects. Wind chimes and pipes, triangles and cymbals. The silent song guided him down to the ground, into a laying position. His legs lifted up off the ground, toes pointed, and they remained suspended as such, seemingly defying gravity, before with one abrupt flick of his left leg, he’d turned onto his stomach.

Every move was precise and executed with a finesse that came with immeasurable amounts of practice. Jimin had been preparing for this day for a very long time now; it all culminated into what would happen over the course of the next half hour. There was no hesitation in each shift, nor did his muscles tremble in the slightest. Now was not the time to be nervous, but to just let it all flow through him. Jimin was confident in his abilities; he knew what was expected of him, and he knew how to do it very effectively.

Somewhere out in the world, a man and a woman might find themselves simultaneously in awe and in shock of what their son had become. A man and a woman Jimin could barely attach a face to, for lack of remembrance. It was all a distant faded memory, one that did not even momentarily cross his mind as he spread his body out to reveal the equally stunning back of his costume. There were so many shimmering dots, one might almost be able to connect them into constellations and drawings of their own imagination.

The man slowly rose from the ground into a seated position, back arched and head tilted back to expose his long neck. With his eyes shut, the audience could glimpse the silver brushed across his lids, and the soft pout of his full lips. No sooner had he settled than he suddenly shot both arms out, and flipped himself around to plant both hands onto the wooden floor.

In a slow forward tilt, Jimin pushed himself into a straight position, toes reaching for the red cloth ceiling of the massive tent while his head hovered above the ground. He kept a careful balance like that for a moment, straight as a needle. It was with a soft exhale that he spread his wings like the delicate ones of a dragonfly, one leg coming forward while the other went back. Carefully, he lowered himself down onto his elbows, which dug painfully into the hard stage. The pain was something he’d learned to ignore.

He’d split into a perfect 180 degree angle, but his legs did not stop there. They continued to descend each in their direction until Jimin could see one of his legs entering his upper peripherals when he cocked up his head. He could feel the stretch in his legs, in his groin, and in his back. It was a stretch that felt good.

People all his life had told him his flexibility was one of his best qualities; his finest talent. It rarely ever failed to amaze and garner attention. They were correct in the respect that his flexibility had carried him this far in his less than ideal life.

Despite having begun this endeavour at a young age, he’d quickly understood his flexibility did not just leave the masses’ jaws agape, but it had certain connotations associated with it too. He knew of the gazes some gave him when he was doing this; loaded with hunger, loaded with greed, and loaded with other equally wicked thoughts.

In this situation, it was an advantage. Jimin, inhumanly split apart before the crowd, was meant to be desirable. He was a shiny object up on stage. A beautiful object that was so delicate yet powerful at the same time, and grasped the attention of every soul seated in those benches. Although, those people would not be there if they did not want to be enraptured in such a way. Beneath all their gazes, regardless what they were thinking to themselves, Jimin felt a rush.

When both sets of toes brushed against the rough wooden boards, that was when the spell broke.

A deep male voice filled the tent, speaking so rapidly it could be considered a rhythm of its own. Jimin paid the actual presence of the man at the podium no mind, but listened to his voice. Not the words that rumbled out in quick succession, but the sound the whole created. It was to this strange sort of beat that he rearranged his body, resting his weight on his upper chest while his back curved backwards as though he was without a spine, until both legs dangled beside his head.

In the audience, arms were flashing up at quick but irregular intervals across the benches. No sooner had the deep voice blurted out three words, he was being cut off by yet another arm shooting up, grasping a thin yellowed card, then prompting the voice to utter a different set of words.

Jimin was in his own bubble. Big booming voice or no big booming voice, he was still the focal point. He needed to remain the focal point. The man’s toes danced upon the stage before one elegant flick of his foot had one leg rising up and descending to touch his big toe to the tip of his nose. Jimin flattened down onto his stomach, and pushed his backside into the air, straightening and reaching back to carry his body into a backwards somersault.

This carried on for another twenty minutes, Jimin putting on a spectacular and elegant display of flexibility and balance while unrest reigned over the crowd and their waving cards. He had just lowered his leg from its position twisted behind his head when the deep voice boomed louder than it had before.

“SOLD!”

And such was the moment he’d been bought. Jimin stood beneath the spotlight, stagnant now but not glimmering any less, especially with the sheen of sweat coating his skin, making the ends of his dark hair stick to the back of his neck. The crowd had erupted into disorganized chatter once again, men sitting back down to complain to their neighbours. Jimin’s eyes properly scanned the mass of people for the first time that evening, searching for the man he now knew as his owner. The man who had won out over everyone else with his coin to obtain this flexible young man for his collection.

Before he could identify the buyer, it was his time to leave the stage. Light on his feet, he descended the stairs, narrowly dodging a man covered from head to toe in piercings who was headed out to replace him under the spotlight. Once he was behind the thick black curtains once more, he wiped at the sweat on his forehead with the back of his wrist, careful not to catch too close to his eyes. A figure ducked in through the curtains, looking very much at odds with the rest of the individuals occupying the area, awaiting their turn.

He was a tall man, dressed in a tailored suit just like every other man in that audience. His was a crisp black, buttoned up to the middle of his chest where a white shirt poked out from beneath. A bowtie was fastened at his neck rather than the tie some preferred. Dark styled hair sat a little mussed up atop his head, falling gently across his left brow. Beneath his arm, he held a bowler hat.

In dress, he was not unlike every other man bidding in the show tent, composed and business-oriented gentlemen searching for a new addition to their traveling show or for other personal purposes, but what caught Jimin off-guard was his face. It wasn’t weathered and wrinkled like many of the old men in there, nor did it carry an air of bitterness or sternness. It was boyish, even though he had the sharp-cut jaw of a man. He was young.

Those big eyes of his had remained transfixed on Jimin since he’d entered, a fascination retained in them even though Jimin was no longer on stage. The man had not said a word yet, but Jimin knew who he was.

With a start, the man cleared his throat and lightly bowed his head. “I am Jeon Jungkook. I was the highest bidder for you” he introduced himself. With a swish of his arm, he’d plopped the bowler back on his head. A semblance of a tight smile flashed across his features. “Come along” he prompted before turning on his heels and walking out of the tent. Wordlessly, Jimin found himself following behind him, about to be taken to meet his new life.

[rosaetae]

the library

(last updated ; 26/08/2020) works in progress— here

[♡] — personal favorite

➴  one shots with love → slice of life!au, angst 

you were only 15 when you were diagnosed with cancer and met your best friend. he promised to stay by your side. you were 15 when you started gaining feelings. you were 15 when you started writing letters. you accepted the fact that you were going to die. you were only 18 when you were ready to leave.

dream a little dream of me ♡ → soulmate!au, angst, fluff

in a world where a person is born with their soulmate’s voice singing to them in their head, this is the story between a songwriter, a waitress, and the stars.

the bedtime contract → roommates!au, e2l!au, fluff

life could have been so much better if you didn’t end up living with him because then you wouldn’t have to sign a stupid contract to help you sleep better at night.

glacier’s view ♡ → fate!au, semi-dystopia!au, semi-e2l!au, a whole lotta angst 

everyone knows when they were born— the date of when they enter the world. everyone in this world not only knows their birth date, but also when they die, when they kick the bucket— the date of when they leave the world.

tale of the purebloods → vampire!au, soulmate!au

kim taehyung has been lucky to have met his Complement early in his life, but through a series of mistakes and fear, he had lost her so easily. one day, after centuries, he had given up all hope on trying to find his Complement to do what was fitting for his kingdom. he just didn’t expect to see his Complement at his own wedding.

➴  series  lavender + vanilla [2/2] → angst (surprise, surprise)   ☇ one/two / two/two 

a story about a boy who had forgotten his memory of you

the chrysanthemum effect ♡ [10/10] → hanahaki!au, angst at its finest  ☇ table of contents

the hanahaki disease has become a stigma in this world where if you had it, you are looked down upon. her flowers were white chrysanthemums and they have been for the past two years. she was in love with someone who obviously didn’t feel the same way, and this was her way of moving on— along with the people in her life who had to conform around the hanahaki disease.

➴  drabbles  peonies → angst 

you always surprised him with peonies on the night of your wedding anniversary.

how to: change a diaper → dad!taehyung, fluff

leaving your husband and son alone to go to work for the first time seems a bit weary. but what could go wrong?

➴ one shots  sweet apple biscuits  → orange!au, angst

a story about someone who receives letters from themselves ten years in the future and asks them to fix all their regrets and save a particular boy.

among the evergreen ♡ → christmas!au, e2l!au, satirical 

the odd christmas wedding with the odd christmas runaway with the odd christmas adventure with the odd christmas stranger

no sweetness → e2l!au, comedy

jungkook has a thing for pretty girls who work with tiny balls, especially the new fiery bobarista at his favorite boba shop, whom he finds absolutely adorable, but just as sweet as you made his milk tea order— not sweet. 

tale of the purebloods → vampire!au, soulmate!au 

jeon jungkook is the cursed pureblood to have fallen in deep love with someone who was not his Complement. having to have fallen hard, he has to compensate with a life full of heartbreak and pain— one of which a burden weighs heavily on his shoulders. so much so, he hires a witch one day to reverse his inevitable Complement tie. 

➴  series the best thing he never had [6/6] → bestfriends2lovers!au, angst  ☇ one / two / three / four / five / six 

in this story, you have known your best friend for more than 15 years and you were utterly and wholly in love with him

➴  drabbles ephemeral meanings → angst

it started with a hello and spilled words with ephemeral meanings 

landscapes → post break-up!au, y’all already know....... angst

to him, you were all the good things that life had to offer and in an abundance of the all good things that were solely compiled of you, jungkook understood. he will never forget you.

➴ one shots cupid’s desire → modernmythology!au   ☇ prologue 

when you’re considered to be The Breathing Thirdwheel™, your friends all decide to pitch in this valentine’s day by bringing you to the one place where all matchmaking is a 100% guarantee— cupid’s desire

tale of the purebloods → vampire!au, soulmate!au 

park jimin was born with a curious mind of the mundane world. out of pure interest, he takes a stroll down the streets alongside the mortals one night, only to have caught himself in a situation where he finds that his Complement is just on the other side of the mirror. 

➴  one shots for all the petals → angst lol 

a story in which you met him in the spring, fell in love with him in the summer, but he left you in autumn and how you missed him in the winter.

➴ one shots halcyon → angst 

you didn’t let him in easily, but when you did, that became your first mistake. 

➴  series  stay warm this winter [3/3]  → ceo!hoseok, exes2enemies2lovers!au, angst ☇ part one / part two / part three

when a young ceo arrives in the area one winter day, everyone is falling in love with him and his charm. and quite ironically for you, you’ve already fell down that hole before.

→ tranquility of the stars here lies below my collections of drabbles from different lists of prompts and ask requests bc i feel the need that this list is necessary. beware! some of them range from super hardcore angst to the exit-out-of-app type fluff to just plain crack.

→ winter songs christmas and winter drabbles to all and to all a good night

[thatbangtanbloom]

Bound || pjm v. jjk [2]

Bound

The Prologue | 1 | 2

Characters: Jungkook x Reader x Jimin

Categories: Angst, Fluff

AU(s): Soulmate!AU

Based loosely off of this soulmate au prompt and BTS’ Perfect Man Cover:

Where for whatever reason, your clock is stuck/frozen/it’s not counting down anymore but it hasn’t reached 00:00:00:00 yet and you’re freaking out because this hasn’t happened to anyone before.

Sypnosis: All your life, Park Jimin has been by your side and secretly had your name adorning his arm. Ideally, you would share the same fate until you find out that you’re destined to be someone else’s; Jeon Jungkook.

♡ ◇ ♡ ♡ ◇ ♡ ♡ ◇ ♡

    Warmth is what you’re supposed to feel when you’re in the arms of your soulmate. Every broken part of you is supposed to be merged together by their mere touch. Your heart is supposed to beat twice as fast whenever you look in their eyes, but none of these things happened when you were in the arms of Jimin.  

   Quite frankly, it was the opposite.

 With Jimin, you felt empty. Every ounce of you was torn apart with each caress from him. Your heart beat was steady whenever he pressed his lips against you. Everything was static with Jimin - but a part of you knew that the pain was worth much more than being with someone who barely knew.  

   Jimin knew all of this even if he could not feel it. In earnest, he wished that you would push him away and kick him out. He wished you would reject him because he knew that his love was the very thing that was killing you – but he also knew that you didn’t care.  

    Tonight was no different. Despite your attempts of trying to mask your sniffling, Jimin heard every one. He could also see the glint of your tears through the small fraction of moonlight that illuminated your face. He hated himself for making you feel this way – it wasn’t his fault but he felt that it was.  

   “I’m sorry.” Jimin whispers into your ear, his lips brushing against your ear. His grip on you tightens and you swear you feel the air being knocked right out of you. That was the thing that confused you – when Jimin did comforting acts (pity acts, if we’re being specific) you felt warm inside. Yet, when he did acts out of his romantic feeling (which was much more often), you were frozen. “I-I just wish it wasn’t like this."

   You turn over to face him, your mouth falling ajar at the tears that beaded his eyes. His tear stained cheeks matched your own and you swore that you felt every fiber of your being soften. "It’s going to be okay, Jiminie.” A strain smile adorns his lips at the nickname.  

   “It’s not okay,” Jimin’s voice cracks, but he goes on. “You’re so selfless and going through this alone when you could be with someone who makes you feel so much better th-than this.” He swallows hard when you gingerly wipe the tear from his eyes. “I’m just so sorry and I wish-"

    "I love you, Jimin.” You suddenly blurt, causing the brown eyed boy’s cheeks to flush. The words burned in your throat, but you swallowed them anyway. “You make me happy. I don’t care about who they say my soulmate is because I know it’s you. It’ll always be you.”  

  A soft chuckle feels the room the two of you shared. The melodious sound is permanently etched in your mind and it makes you smile in content. “Don’t say stuff like that, you know what that does to me.” He wraps his arm around your shoulders and pulls you closer. The close proximity makes you giggle softly at how fast Jimin’s mood can change.  

   “I know, that’s why I said it.” You joke softly, instantly forgetting the gaping hole that you feel in your heart. “Why are we like this?”  

    "Just go to bed, okay, jagi? You need to get as much rest as possible.“ Jimin sternly advises while tucking you deeper into the cover. Though he sounds slightly amused, you know that he means it a lot more than he should have too. Knowing of how weak you became after losing your soulmate clock, Jimin had taken it upon himself to be your primary caretaker. The idea of Jimin being so sweet to you heralded you to sleep.  

  Abrupt knocking in the middle of the night had led you to be awoken from your slumber with you in Jimin’s arms. It had been a supreme displeasure to you that someone would have the audacity to come to your loft at such an ungodly hour. The knocker must have been frantic because the knocks barely contained any milliseconds, let alone seconds between them. You quietly threw off your fluffy white comforter and tucked it around Jimin who instantly squirmed in his sleep due to the warmth disappearing beside him. A small smile falling on your face at his adorable actions.

  "You’re so cute, Jimin.” You say once more so to yourself than to the boy peacefully sleeping in front of you. You turn on your heels, slipping on your slippers as you stretched wordlessly. Thousands of complaints rolling through your head as you thought of the unprofessionalism that was currently taking place with someone knocking at your door like that. “I’m coming!”  

 Upon hearing your voice, the person knocked harder, violently even. Boom after boom against your door caused a frown to fall upon your face.

"Oh, come on. I’m coming.“ You mumbled under your breath, leaning against your door to see through your peephole. You were met with the gaze of a boy who looked slightly older than you. His hair is tousled wildly, raven black with sweat rolling down his face. "Who is it?” Tiredly, you open up the door to catch a better look at the raven haired boy in front of you.  

  "Y/N,“ The boy’s voice rasps. He crashes into you, his arms wrapping around your hips to pull you close to him. His hand stroking your head, fingers slightly toying with your ponytail. "It’s you."

Instantly thinking of Jimin, you steal away from the raven haired boy. His eyes are beautiful, a soft and endearing brown. "Yes, I’m Y/N.” Your lungs are burning again, but you don’t know why. “Um, who are you?"

"Jeon Jungkook.” His response is short and sweet. His name sends a ripple through you. It sounds eerily familiar, but you’re certain that you’ve never heard before. “Your soulmate, didn’t you see it on your arm?” He gestures to his arm excitedly, proud even. His clock stopped at thirty-nine minutes and forty-eight seconds… and then there’s your name written in calligraphy against his gorgeous tan skin.  

“Jagi,"A melodious voice rings from Jimin while you stand frozen under Jungkook’s once loving gaze, now a confused one written all over his face. "Jagiya, what’s wrong?” Jimin walks over before stopping in his tracks at the sight of Jungkook. The first thing that Jimin notices is the non-ticking clock on Jungkook’s arm and the name of his soulmate written in the strikingly similar cursive.

"Who is this?“ Jungkook narrows his eyes at the display in front of him. He advances towards you, but you take a step back. Your heart thumps loudly in your ears. A confused look on his face. "Y/N, who is this?”  

"Park Jimin.“ Jimin speaks up. His orange hair falling over his eyes as he takes a step in front of me to look at the taller boy. "I don’t appreciate you coming to my girlfriend’s house in the middle of the night for no reason. I’m going to ask you to leave nicely, or we’re going to have a problem."

 That was one of the effects of having a soulmate, the thought of another person being with that soulmate causes a chemical reaction in the brain and a definite form of possessiveness. Genetic modification at its finest.  

 "Your girlfriend?” Jungkook’s left breathless at the word. Brows creasing together at your figure before chewing on his bottom lip. “Well, she’s my soulmate. We’re meant to be together so you can leave now.” He bumps shoulders with Jimin aggressively before turning to you. “We have a lot of catching up–"

"That’s funny because she’s my soulmate too.” Jimin hastily replies while rolling up his shirt. The clock on his left bicep clearly showing a longer amount of time with eight years.

 Jungkook chuckles over at Jimin. Jungkook didn’t want to fathom the thought of his soulmate having another, especially one for so long when he had searched for feverishly for you these last few days to ensure that you’d get the happy ending that was promised in that kindergarten classroom so long ago.   A person having multiple soulmates was possible, but not common. The odds were less than half of one percent of the total population of Earth. How had you been one of the significant few to achieve this?  

"Jungkook,“ Your voice is shaky and frail, but it’s the best that you can manage. "My soulmate clock broke.” You avert your eyes away from his, but by the change of his breathing, you know that what you said is anything but comforting. “I-I don’t know what this means for you, but it’s broken.”  

 Jimin clears his throat, causing the both of you to look at him. “Her clock broke about six months ago… We tried to get it fixed but the doctors didn’t know what to do about it.”  

   A gulp escapes Jungkook, his eyes darting from your arm back to Jimin. His brows narrowed. “Soulmate clocks just don’t break, Jimin.” Jungkook fully enunciated Jimin’s name. It was evident for Jungkook to think that Jimin had something to do with your clock suddenly breaking.

 “Jimin and I were coming back from the movies late one night,” You feverishly defend Jimin, a common technique that you had known. “We stopped by the lake to talk about soulmates and then it just-” Months had passed, but you still were bothered by how eerily it happened.

   With his arm looped in yours, he nodded quietly. His eyes absentmindedly darted to his left arm, where your name had been written beautifully in calligraphy since you two were nine. Times were much more simpler than, back when the only talks you two shared were about how you two feverishly stood up for each other to no end. That was back when he had to hide from you, wearing long sleeves on hot summer days in fear that you would be repulsed by him being your soulmate and you not his.  

“You used to let me push you on the swing.” You giggled softly toward yourself. “You said we would get married and I’d be the breadwinner since I was better at school than you.”  

Though Jimin was quite the talker, he had never been more quiet than this as he listened to you recollect your childhood together. Your view had been remarkably more rosy than his was.

  "Well, yeah.“ Jimin finally joins, slipping his hand out of his peacoat to adjust his red beanie. "You said that I could follow my dream while you did all the hard work. Why would I turn that down?”  

  "That was not the proposition when I offered to married you.“ You exclaimed with a laugh, halting the two of you. "You said that you would stop saying that soul mates didn’t exist and that was that!”  

 Jimin turned to face you. Cheeks rosy from the coolness of Busan streets. “They don’t, Y/N. After all, would I have purposely been paired up with you?” He teased before taking two steps closer to you. His honey brown eyes stared back into yours.

  With flushed cheeks, you took a step back before walking around him. “Jimin, stop joking.” You always had become uneasy when Jimin mentioned that you were his soulmate. It wasn’t that you were disgusted by the idea. You never could. After all, he had been who you had spent your entire adolescence with. What really scared you was how your cheeks flushed whenever he stared into your eyes or how your heart raced too fast for it to simply be platonic.  

  "Come on, jagi.“ He used his pet name for you. His arms looped around your waist as he hugged you from behind. A smile on his face as  shrugged off his jacket to drape it around your shoulders. "Let’s get you back home, okay?”  

 When you had taken off Jimin’s coat to return back to him, you could still remember the scream that erupted from you.  The way that you had crumpled to the ground in pain had been permanently etched into Jimin’s head.

 Jungkook stood there in utter silence. The idea of you in pain coursed through his veins and it crippled him in thought. Had that been the reason why he hadn’t been himself the last few months? Was that the reason why he went hours without sleep and remained in the hospital for weeks on end?

"I-I couldn’t do anything for myself.“ You toyed with the sleeve of your shirt. ”-so Jimin took the initiative of taking care of me… Along the way, we grew closer than I thought possible.“ You didn’t realize at first how open you were being about being with Jimin, especially since the two of you had brushed over the topic of you two, but it clicked all at once.  

   Jungkook was your soulmate. He was destined by fate to be someone who could only be in love with you. He understood you better than you understood yourself, so that explained why you didn’t mind sharing your story with him.   Before you knew it, Jungkook’s arms were around you. His lips pressing against your hair as he held you close. Your breathing hitched due to the sudden contact. "It’s okay… I’m here.” He softly adds.

Jimin stood stone still. He shifted uncomfortably as he watched Jungkook coddle his soulmate. It had been a scene he anticipated all his life, but why did it feel like a thousand knives in his chest?    ♡ ◇ ♡ ♡ ◇ ♡ ♡ ◇ ♡

[kkulmoon]

SUGAR & SALT |”in the winter things brew”(1) | [teaser]

— a/n: this is my first fanfic ever. The thought has been with me for a while, as usual. But I thought why not write it. I would appreciate any constructive criticism :) 

— synopsis: There are only three things in life that truly matter: God, sugar and politics. They all somehow, at some point in your life , end up interacting. 

For the past month, ever since you quit going to Church, the whole town has vilified you for your less than strong religious opinion. You are currently known as the sugar Christian amongst all the hardcore Christians. But you should not be the one feeling left out, they should. For the last three years your town's political council has been trying to get rid of the noticeable influence the Church's teaching has been having on its politics. While you support them on most fronts, such as the religious one, you are petty and ready to write a handwritten complain for their awful handling of food imports. 

You are out of your favourite sugar and it won't be able to reach Warringham until a month after your return from the ski resort. You could handle no God (please forgive me God), no politics, but no sugar?! NO!

You need sugar. You need it to survive, you need it to pay rent, the phone bill, the electricity, the groceries. 

You're a baker.

A bad one, it seems. Even with Taehyung, Jimin, Seokjin and Ada, the finest products and tools at your disposal, you seem to cook up a disappointing dish. So whose fault is it really? 

— pairings: a friend of a friend/ rich boy!kim taehyung x baker!reader (f) + park jimin & kim seokjin

(appearances by other idols, to be announced when appropriate) 

— genre: angst (?), romance, smut (later chapters), slow burn

— word count : 661 

— warnings/content: enemies to lovers (?), slice of life, unrequited love, discrimination (later on), religion (writing about very lightly, so some may take offence), countryside-ish au, 

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You and your roommate, Ada, just arrived at the ski resort. Scraping sounds resound as you drag your luggages and clump them by your respective beds. It's now officially year seven of "Vacation for those with low earning reports", which meant visiting your local (almost) ski resort in Punniton for the seventh year in a row. The first one happened back in your first year of high school after you wanted to be independent, leading you to meeting your best friend, Ada, and planning what turned out to be the most unplanned trip of your life but you still made it. You managed to go and come back. Yes, you both had lost a bit of your sanity and were broke, but you were safe, and that's what counted. 

"Soooo I want to go and check out the slopes but I know how you much you like your afternoon nap, so I'll leave you to it." Ada says riffling through her bag for her skiing pants.

You just hum in response, already liking the firmness of the mattress. Though it has been seven years in a row going to the same resort every winter break, you still adopted your same routine. You change into a cosy fit, and make your way to the lobby to take a look at the restaurant. While you did like skiing, you particularly liked food, so to you, bad food meant a bad vacation. 

You make a quick beeline for the pastry section and let your eyes get inspired by the plethora of pastries. One of the other reasons you visited the resort each year was to scout any new pastries that you could debut back at home in the bakery. Punniton's ski resort was known for providing a variety of pastries for its international guests. So yes, while you did go for skiing the first two years, the remaining five where simply to spark your creative juices in the kitchen, but that's something only you needed to know. Looking at the display fuelled your hunger. One piece before your nap wouldn't hurt, right?

"Could I have a-" you say.

" Could I have a-" another voice echos beside you.

You turn to your side. " Oh!" the more than familiar male exclaims.

"Woahhhh, Jimin?! like for real, THE Park Jimin!" You lunge at him, wrapping your arms around him.

You feel the vibrations from his chest as his laugh fills your ears. You take a step back, making a thorough examination of your more than dazzling former high school dance partner. You're happy to see that not much has changed, at least not on the outside but he seems to carry an even brighter aura around him.

"Hmmm yeah, it's just me" he says sporting his smug face. On that has had you cheesing ever since you met him for the first time in tenth grade.

His eyes soften and performer Jimin takes the backseat as Jimin asks "How have you been? It's been a hot minute."

You think back to your high school days and remember Park Jimin before he became Park Jimin. He would squeeze dance practice before classes started. His weekends were spend in one room, the kind with mirrors and his eyes where always set, burning with passion to make it.  With your unassuming character you genuinely thought that someone so ambitious would end up corrupted. You couldn't have been more wrong. Jimin had made it, he was standing right in front of you and it felt like the two of you had just left dance practice that you had, back in high school and you were on your way to get a bite.

"Good, thanks! But I am feeling a lot better now" you can't help the smile that is plastered on your face, Jimin always had that effect. "I am still working at the bakery..." you glance at him and you are happy to see that his interest hasn't flattered unlike others "and I'm head chef now and get to choose what the bakery sells!"

"That's nice to hear Y/N" Jimin says taking an apprehensive look at Y/N.

[...]

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— a/n: thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed the little teaser :)